Shady Origins
by satori93
Summary: Battle City is over; Jesara and Marik try to fit into the normal life in Domino City before their trip to Egypt. But then nightmares start to haunt her nights and an old enemy wants to take revenge on them. An old prophecy and the question of her own origins put the worlds sake at risk again. The battle isn't over yet. SEQUEL TO One Million Reasons. / Marik X OC
1. Prologue

**AN: Yes yes. I decided to start the sequel of One Million Reasons along with the prequel. Since I sometimes have a lack of ideas for the prequel I thought it could be good to switch to something else to work around the writers block :P**

**I have a quite freaky idea for the sequel ;-) I collected so much possible scenarios and possible scenes for this story over the past 2 weeks. So, here is the prologue and chapter 1 has also been posted. :-)**

**Enjoy!**

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**PROLOGUE  
****Shady Origins**

_'__Where am I?'_ Jesara asked herself mentally as she took step after step slowly through an almost black nothing that surrounded her. Only different shades of black, grey and deep lilac drew a slight texture to the darkness. Time and space felt like they were invalidated.

Coldness sent a shiver up her arms and spine.

This place was surreal and slowly fear filled her body as she began to panic because of her lack of orientation.

"Hallo…?" She asked with a voice close to breaking, filled with fear and discomfort. Her words echoed through the endless darkness in front and behind her. "Is anybody there…?" Her words left her lips just as a whisper as Jesara turned around and around, not sure what she was trying to find.

An evil laughter cut through the silence of that eerie dark place, her shoulders cringed immediately and eyes went wide. Didn't she hear that demonic voice before? It sounded so familiar, yet not in a good way. But no matter how often she turned her head around and scanned the dark nothing for the source of it she couldn't find something.

"Who is that!?" She spat and narrowed her amber-olive eyes. Her hands formed into fists and she tried her best to hold back the shiver that crawled slowly up her spine and neck.

"Surprised?" The dark, bodiless voice asked. The arrogantly emphasised word came from all possible directions. A growl left Jesara's lips to cover her unease, not willing to answer the question.

"You didn't really believe that you've seen the last of me, my sweet sweet Jesara?" The voice taunted in amusement.

_'…__my sweet sweet Jesara…?'_ She repeated the spoken words mentally, panic started to grow slowly as a slight suspicion crossed her mind. _'…but, he's dead.'_

"Oh Jesara… I'm far from dead. Actually I'm very alive." Now the voice was dangerously close to her right ear, whispering into it with a demonic chuckle. Asher head snapped to the side her eyes locked with blank lavender irises. Spiky sandy blonde bangs hung into his gaze, which was plastered with an amused smirk.

Jesara wanted to bring as much distance between him and her as possible, but as her legs and arms didn't react or moved her eyes went wide. Her heart rate almost exploded within a second, her breath got heavier and was close to hyperventilating. She felt how a panic attack took control over her body.

"Oh no, my dear… I thought you'd be super excited to see me again." Jesara felt his smirk on her ear, his breath on her neck as he leant in to her once more, burying his face in her hair. The touch of his hands on her upper arms made her cringe, nor did it lessen her panic.

"B-but you died… I've seen you die…" Jesara whimpered and pressed her eyes shut, hoping it all was just a dream - a nightmare.

"I'll never die, my dear. The pharaoh just disconnected me from your precious Marik's body and sent me to the shadow realm." He chuckled while his hands slowly drifted up her arms.

"We are…" She inhaled deeply and paused before she repeated his words. "…in the shadow realm?"

"Yes Yes, well observed." His nose stroked around her ear, but still she was unable to move - helpless and defenceless. If she really was in the shadow realm things were going by his way here. "What a smart little girl you are."

"What do you want from me…?" Jesara pressed out, her voice still weak and filled with fear that couldn't be covered with faked bravery.

"You owe me a life. It's all about revenge, my dear." Yami Marik explained, his typical arrogant nature echoed in every word he spoke. "You see?" His finger pointed in front of her and her eyes followed into its direction without hesitating.

A male silhouette appeared out of the dark shadows; slowly she could make out his light golden hair, tanned skin and well toned features - no doubt it was Marik who stood there with his back faced to her.

"You will learn soon enough that it's not impossible to escape from the shadow realm, my dear. This story isn't over yet. Battle City was just a little setback." Yami Marik chuckled into her ear while Jesara's widened eyes were glued on the back of Marik's head in front of her. But as much as she tried to shout his name all that she managed to press out was a slight whimper under Yami Marik's tightening grip. "Prophecies don't always come true, Jesara… And I'll make sure of that."

"W-What are you talking about…?" Jesara pressed her eyes shut, begging mentally this was just the worst nightmare of her lifetime.

"All in due time, sweetheart." His breath on her neck made her flesh crawl in fear. "But I'll reveal a little secret to you. "Guess who's going to be the first victim of my vendetta?"

Jesara's eyes shot open at his words. Vendetta? If that wasn't only a terrible nightmare then his threat didn't mean anything good. She looked at Marik, whose back was still facing her. Every of her heartbeats left like a sledgehammer hitting against her ribcage.

Slowly - like it happened in slow motion - Marik turned around, his head low and his blonde bangs covering his eyes. Jesara held her breath, still hoping that she would wake up soon. She could feel her blood freezing inside her veins.

As Marik lifted his head she could see his blank, dead eyes. He looked terrible.. sick… exhausted.

"What have you done to him, you monster?" Jesara hissed under her breath, but her question was only answered with an evil smirk she felt on her neck.

Suddenly bloody tears ran down Marik's cheeks like a waterfall and she could see how blood also came from his ears and nose. Was he dying…? A piercing scream shot through the endless darkness of the shadow realm, followed by an uncontrolled, demonic laughter.

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**AN: Hope you liked the prologue so far. Yeah, I know… I'm a bit of a horror lady :P If you want to cheer up my day make sure to review. Reviews keep an author motivated and it's good to have feedback if you liked the story or what could be improved!**


	2. Haunting Me

**AN: And here's chapter 1! Enjoy!**

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**CHAPTER I  
****Haunting Me**

Jesara awoke with a scream that echoed through her flat. A few drops of sweat ran down her temples. Her breath was heavy and uncontrolled while her heart beat a million miles a minute. She sat upright in her bed surrounded by the silent darkness of the night; only the dim city lights illuminated her bedroom and she tried her best to fight against her panic attack. Her palm met her chest to calm herself down.

She swallowed hard and her mouth felt as dry as the gobi desert. When she finally managed to calm down completely Jesara laid her head in her palms, fighting against tears. _'Thank Ra… It was just a nightmare…'_ She thought to herself and wiped away the sweat from her forehead. _'If you would only stop to haunt me in my dreams…'_

In this moment she regretted it bitterly that she asked Marik to take things slow and that it would be better if he'd stay in a hotel - at least for a few days or a week. Now she wished he would be right there beside her to soothe her nerves. Five days had gone by since their return from Battle City, but everything that happened still tied up her mind. Jesara glimpsed over her shoulder and to the little retro alarm clock on her nightstand. It was almost 5 am in the morning and the sun would be going to rise soon.

It was Saturday and Marik and her decided to invite Yugi and the gang for dinner in the evening. They wanted to prepare a traditional Egyptian menu for them - especially Marik hoped to make the first step to a better relationship with them and to apologise for all the shit he had put them through. It would be wise to get a bit more sleep, but after that horrifying dream Jesara was far from falling asleep again. So she got up from her bed with a moan and shut the bathroom door behind her.

After a hot, soothing shower she wrapped a big towel around her naked, still wet body and also one around her head like a turban to soak off the water from her fresh washed hair. The pleasant smell of freshly brewed coffee filled her kitchen while she rested her elbows on her kitchen island and checked her phone for new messages.

A smile formed n her lips when she looked at the picture of her home screen; it showed her and Marik when they got back to Domino harbour a few days ago. For her it was still surreal that after such a long time of separation and all the shit that happened during the tournament they were finally back together. It felt a bit weird, but yet so right. By now it was almost 6 am and the rising sun started to bath the city into a wonderful golden light, that enhanced by every minute that went by.

"Are you awake?" Jesara typed the text message into her phone and hesitated for a second, thinking about adding that heart emoji to the text before sending. She nibbled on her bottom lip, but then she decided to just do it. Hastily she added the emoji, pressed the "send" button and locked her phone to put it away. Her cheeks blushed a bit as she tried to hold back a sweet grin. Somehow it felt a bit weird to send a heart emoji to the former leader of a world wide criminal organisation, who tried to rule the world. But those times were over now; it was time to live a normal life as good as possible.

She poured the freshly brewed coffee into her favourite mug and added a bit of whole milk to it. Hopefully she won't regret it getting up so early later, but thanks to that freaking nightmare getting back to sleep was out of question. A sigh left her throat when she thought back to it. Everything felt so real in it; _his_ touch, _his_ breath on her neck, _his_ disgusting smirk and attitude. It was just like he was really there. Jesara shook her head to get it off her mind again. _'It was nothing more than a nightmare. He's gone forever - hopefully.'_

A buzzing sound caught her attention; it was her phone that vibrated to signalise an incoming text message.

"Almost. Why up so early?" Jesara grinned when she saw that Marik had also texted her a heart emoji in return. She thought a while if she should tell him about the dream she had, but decided against it. Explaining everything in a text message could be nerve wrecking; she will tell him later about it in person.

"Only the early bird catches the worm." To that she added the chicken emoji and pressed on the send-button.

Only a minute later her phone buzzed again. "I'm at your place at 2 pm." This time a blinking smilie added emotion to the new text message. Jesara texted back a thumbs-up emoji and another heart, then sat down on her usual spot on her balcony to celebrate her everyday-ritual.

**xx**

Jesara had changed into another version of her signature outfit; black skinny pants and a black tank top. She would change into something more elegant before Yugi and the gang arrive for dinner. The gentle voice of Michael Bublé sung from the sound system in her flat while she diligently set the table with plates, glasses, candles and other decoration stuff. From time to time throughout the day her nightmare crossed her mind and kept her deep in thought.

The sound of her door bell startled her from her thoughts. But a smile came to her lips when she realised who came to see her. It was about 2 pm.

"Mrs. Ishtar." Marik said with his typical elegant smirk as Jesara opened the door for him.

She rolled her eyes gently at his greeting and gestured him to come in. "Don't call me that all the time." Jesara said with a wink and a smile. But before he walked in he closed every distance between him and her to place a soft kiss on her lips.

"Maybe." Marik chuckled. "How was your day so far?" He asked ignoring her former beg.

"Just did the house work and prepared everything for the evening. We're ready to cook." Jesara said and formed a smile.

"Only cook?" He asked using air quotes for emphasis. With those words spoken Jesara gave him a light punch on his shoulder along with a wry grimace.

**xx**

While they prepared various Egyptian dishes - salty such as sweet - time went by ridiculously fast. Also Jesara's kitchen looked like a battleground thanks to the outstanding cooking skills of a former criminal mastermind who had tons of servants and probably never touched cooking spoon.

"We could also go to a high class restaurant, Jesara, you know that?" Marik growled while he struggled with the falafels. "This doesn't even look edible."

"What a sight for the gods. Mr. Ex-Leader of the Rare Hunters, who stole thousands of rare cards and earned millions with that, struggles with a tiny ball of falafel. Never call me clumsy again…" Jesara chuckled as she watched Marik's cooking mess from the corner of her eyes.

"Cooking never was something I was meant to do." He glared at her with an arched brow, apparently not amused about that new experience.

"Obviously." She held back a laughter as the falafel ball turned out more cubic than round. "Have you heard anything from Ishizu and Odion?" Jesara decided to change the topic before his ego got too damaged from the cooking disaster.

"They're almost back in Egypt. Ishizu told me that she will call us as soon as they are back in the tomb." He answered while washing his hands clean. "I hope everything is good there. But the servants of the Ishtar clan took care of it for sure…" Marik sighed and locked eyes with Jesara on the other side of the bright white kitchen island. "While I was away…" He added dryly, his words full of guilt.

"While we were away." Jesara corrected him with a wry smile. "Don't think too much about what happened. Everything will be fine since you decided to make good your mistakes. And today we are making the first step, okay?"

Marik crossed his arms in front of his chest, his expression insecure of what she said. "Do you really think they can forgive me someday? I think it won't be done with a self cooked dinner and a flower bouquet."

She could tell from his gaze and emphasis that he felt extremely guilty for everything, also insecure about how to act around the gang as soon as they arrive in about two hours time. It was something she hasn't seen in his eyes for a long time. Jesara made a few steps around the kitchen island and drew closer to him, gently brushing one of his sandy blonde hair strands out of his tanned face. "Give them a bit of time." She said under her breath to comfort him while her slight fingers stroked along his jawline.

"What if they hate me?" He sighed and rested his hands on her lower hips.

"They don't hate you." A reassuring smile played on her lips. Another sigh left Marik's throat before he returned the smile and pulled her closer to his chest.

"But they will after those awfully looking falafels…" With that he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and then another one on her lips, which ended up in a long untamed one. In that moment the nightmare of last night felt far away and distant; but little did she know things would get worse.

**xx**

After the food was finished and the kitchen cleaned again Jesara changed into a little, knee-length black dress with an elegant belt around her waist. Everything was ready, ambience lightning was on point and also a few candles flickered beautifully on various shelves and sideboards.

"Jesara?" Marik asked curiously, looking over the various dishes and well decorated plates on the kitchen island. "Are you sure there's enough food for Joey AND Tristan?"

She grabbed a bottle of Egyptian wine from the fridge and chuckled at his question. "That's enough food for a whole football team."

"That's why I ask." He arched an eyebrow at her.

The doorbell rang and Jesara immediately rushed into the foyer to open the door for the guests.

"Jess! Good to see you!" Tea cheered and hugged the egyptian girl like they didn't see each other for years.

"Hi there! Thanks for the invitation! I'm starving!" Joey greeted and stepped in after Yugi. Tristan followed him on heel and handed other a little present basked, stuffed with various Japanese delicacies.

"Oh thank you!" She smiled and mentioned for everyone to walk directly into the kitchen and dining room. "I'm happy that you're all here. What a pity that Duke had to leave the town for some business meetings."

"Hi there." Marik muttered, again back in the insecure mode. "I'm happy to see you." He offered Yugi his hand for a shake.

"Marik! Good to see you too!" Little Yugi answered with his typical innocent smile and accepted the hand shake. "Hope you're good?"

"Yes. Thanks to you, Yugi." Marik said with a wry smile on his gaze. "I won't ever be able to thank you enough for everything."

"Dude, no big deal!" Joey said and greeted Marik with a fist-bump.

After everyone was finished with greeting each other Jesara offered everyone a glass of lotus iced tea and invited them to sit down. The table was filled with a ridiculous amount of various egyptian salads and appetisers, which Joey and Tristan loaded their plates with. The evening started with a lot of chitchat with school topics and of course a lot of duel monsters stuff. Jesara was glad that she texted them before that it would be great if they would cut on the Battle City talks.

Tea watched Joey and Tristan with widened eyes when they gobbled the main dish like they haven't eaten since they got back from the duelling island. Jesara held back a grin when she watched them across the table too and leant a bit closer to Marik beside her. "That's another reason why I didn't want you to bring them to one of those fancy restaurants. You'd be broke now." She whispered low enough so only he could hear her. He answered with an amused smile and a nod.

"Well then, you little lovebirds!" Tea spoke up in her typical happy tone. "When, where and the most important question: When will the both of us go shopping for your bridal dress?"

_'__Oh Ra, that was inevitable…" _Jesara sighed mentally. Tristan and Joey almost choked their food at Tea's random question. An embarrassed grimace formed on Yugi's gaze while Marik watched Jesara from the corner of his lavender eyes.

"Ahm…" Jesara cleared her throat; her cheeks burned from the blush on it. "We didn't even talked about that, Tea… Besides that I'm still seventeen, at least we have to wait until my birthday. Marriage under the age of eighteen isn't allowed in Japan. But you'll be the first to know." With that she hoped that this particular topic would be closed for now.

"Not in Egypt." Marik cut in and rested his head in his palm as he shot Jesara an amused grin. She knew that he did that on purpose to tease her. Did he really have to banter with her about that topic now? Her amber-olive eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"By the way!" Yugi spoke up after he swallowed a bite of the main dish. "When do we all go to Egypt to discover the secret of Yami's past?"

Jesara exhaled thankfully that Yugi helped her to move out of that wedding-mess and gave him an unmistakable smile.

"Whenever you all are ready." Marik answered the teen and shrugged his shoulders. "But I think you still have a few weeks of school left until the finals?"

Yugi nodded. "I think so. Three weeks to be exactly."

"Are you excited, Yugi?" Tea asked curiously and helped herself to another portion of salad. "I'm so excited about what we will find out about the spirit of the puzzle and his past."

"Yes. But I'm also anxious about how everything will change." The teen said weary. "Marik, do you know what we have to expect once we're in Egypt?"

"Not exactly. My family guarded his tomb for thousands of years, such as his memories, secrets and the key to his name. But I'm afraid that I can't tell you everything you want to know. It was my purpose to guard the key to his destiny and hand it over to him as soon as he returns to the modern world. But I don't know more." Marik answered.

"How are the girls in Egypt?" Joey cut in, observing Marik with hopeful eyes while he chewed on his food. Jesara and Tea face-palmed in unison at his question.

"That's a very good question!" Tristan added, also munching away his meal.

"Joey! Tristan!" Tea urged and waggled with her spoon up in the air for emphasis.

After a second of weird silence they started to laugh in unison. For the first time Marik felt like he was on eye level with others, not the mighty criminal mastermind who was used to give commands at his servants. He never expected it to feel so comfortable - so normal.

The dinner went on and the gang talked and laughed until the late evening hours. Marik apologised once more for everything that he'd done to them during Battle City, but Yugi and the gang reassured them that he didn't have to. When the clock finally hit the midnight hour they decided to leave and head home.

"Thanks again for the dinner. It was delicious!" Yugi gave Jesara and Marik another innocent smile while he out his shoes on in the foyer. "See you at school on monday, Jess."

"Yeah, thanks guys." Joey said, rubbing his belly in unison with Tristan. "Can someone roll me home?"

Jesara giggled at the blonde. "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal, Joey. Although I don't know how you're even able to walk after those ridiculous amounts of food you stuffed into that belly."

"Joey is a walking miracle when it comes to eating." Tea grinned and patted Joey's shoulders. "It would be wise when the both of you don't plan on having a buffet at your wedding."

"Tea…" Jesara urged and raised her left eyebrow. "We're not even living in the same house hold yet."

"That's a thing we could change right here and now." Marik cut in and placed his left arm around her shoulders.

"Awwwww." Tea sang and slipped into her plateau sandals.

"Alright guys, we're heading home. Thanks again! I need to get going, grandfather tried to call me, but I somehow overheard it. See you!" Yugi waved goodbye and left, Joey and Tristan followed him on heel after farewelling Jesara and Marik. Tea hugged her only female friend, wishing them a goodnight before she left too. And then everything fell silent, just the ambience music played in the background.

"What a nice evening." Marik said randomly and pulled Jesara closer to his chest in her foyer.

"Mhm." Jesara murmured, a bit tired from the busy day and lots of preparations. Suddenly the nightmare crossed her mind again when she thought of the possibility to sleep alone again. What if those nightmares haunt her again this night? "Marik?" She asked and looked up into his lavender gaze.

"Mh?" His nose tip stroked gently over hers.

"Could you stay for the night?" She asked with a voice as low as a whisper. "I don't want to be alone."

Marik's eyebrows shot up immediately at her inquiry, but then a smile grew on his lips. "Sure I will. Why do you ask?"

"I need to talk with you about something." Jesara answered and nibbled on her bottom lip, not sure about how to tell him about that awful nightmare she had. "But let's clean up the mess, get a glass of wine and I'll tell you… ok?"

His expression grew curious at her words. Whatever it was it might be serious; something filled her with unease. "Is everything alright, Jesara?"

"Hopefully." She answered and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

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**AN: I hope you enjoyed this little kick off for the story. As you know from my first FF "One Million Reasons" I try to update frequently and as soon as possible. I will try to keep that up, but my work life is a living hell right now and I need to focus on that. So I'm sorry if updates will take a bit longer than before.**

**As everytime: Please review!**


	3. New Dangers

**AN: Hey there and happy Sunday! I'm back with a new chapter of SO. Things are going to get serious now :-) But before that I collected all of the romance stuff my brain was able to write and put it in here :D Well, from now on we're back in the M-rated section again.**

**It wasn't easy to write for me, but I think it turned out quite well. And I'm happy that I had time to write this one. June is a horrible month at work for me.**

**Enjoy! And be kind and leave a review :-)**

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**CHAPTER II  
****New Dangers**

The wine bottle opened with a slight popping sound and Jesara filled two glasses with the gold coloured liquid; then handed one over to her sandy blonde company. They chinked glasses and smiled at each other for a second. After taking a sip of her white wine Jesara started to load the dish washer and asked Marik for assistance.

"You wanted to talk about something." Marik reminded her as he handed her plate after plate. "What is wrong?"

A sigh left her throat and she took another sip of wine. Her smile vanished, but a concerned expression grew more and more evident on her face. Marik arched a brow at her, knowing that whatever was the reason for her unease it wouldn't be good news. Jesara hesitated, struggling to find words to start with.

"Don't tell me you're pregnant." His lavender eyes widened and the colour of his tanned skin seemed to vanish away. Jesara grimaced at his suspicion and almost spit out the wine.

"What the…! Marik!" She urged, waving her hands above her head for emphasis. "NO! Are you serious!? We didn't even…" But she didn't dare to complete the sentence - instead she tried to wash the opened topic away with wine. "And of course I wouldn't drink IF I was pregnant." Jesara added and rolled her eyes.

"That was a joke, Jesara." He chuckled softy. "Spit it out, what is troubling you? I can tell from your eyes that it must be something serious?"

"I had a dream last night…" Jesara started, nibbling on her bottom lip nervously. "Well, more a nightmare than a dream. It felt so real and it scared me."

"Go on." Marik said with concernment written to his lavender gaze while he handed her the last plate to load into the dish washer. Then he bent forward to rest his elbows on the kitchen island and stared at her in expectation of what she had to tell.

"I told you that when your dark side was in control over your body during battle city I had a nightmare; he invaded my dreams and tried to make me believe that everything what happened to you was my fault. I had no idea if it really was just a nightmare or if he haunted my dreams." She explained and activated the dish washer after closing its door. Her amber-olive eyes locked with his - staring at each other intensively.

Marik's gaze hardened; his pale lavender eyes glowing. He mentioned her to carry on. Jesara played with her fingers nervously; explaining her latest nightmare to him wasn't an easy task for her. How could she tell him what she saw and that his evil side promised revenge?

"Last night he payed me a visit again." Jesara exhaled and rubbed her temples. "I dreamed that I was in the shadow realm and he was there too. Your dark side said that he didn't die and that he just got disconnected from you by the pharaoh. And…" She stopped when the memory of her dream shot a shiver of fear through her body.

"And?" Marik straightened himself again; his stare still icy.

"And he claimed that it's not impossible to escape from the shadow realm… _It's all about revenge._ That were his words…" Jesara inhaled deeply as she noticed that a few tears gathered in her eyes. "And then I saw you and he did terrible things to you." By now she started to sob heavily.

The sandy blonde drew closer to her and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her to comfort her. His right hand stroked gently over her head. "Why didn't tell me earlier today?"

Jesara wrapped her arms around his abdomen and pressed her cheeks into the soft material of his grey sleeveless shirt. She shrugged slightly. "I didn't want to worry you or the others. And I wanted this to be a stressless evening. At least it could be just a nightmare that doesn't mean anything. Maybe it was just my brain and the fear that caused it."

"Never do that again. I want you to tell me things like that immediately." Marik tightened his hug and rested his chin on her head. "You can tell me everything."

"I'm sorry." Jesara whispered. "Could it be possible…? I mean… what he said? That it's not impossible to get out of the shadow realm? What if he returns somehow? I can't go through that a second time."

"I have no idea." Marik sighed and then lifted Jesara's chin up with his right hand. "But you need to tell me if those dreams continue, okay?" His violet irises stared into hers; just inches away from each other. Jesara nodded and shot him a wry, forced smile.

He gently pressed a kiss on her forehead and then a second one on her lips.

"Could you stay here?" She asked under her breath. "I mean overnight? I don't want to be alone if the nightmare returns."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise at her inquiry to stay for the night. But then a smile formed on his lips. After Battle City Jesara wanted to take things slow between them and so he moved into a hotel until the time was right. "Of course. If it's your wish."

"Thank you." Jesara whispered and placed another short kiss on his lips, standing on tiptoes to reach them. "Just feel like home."

"If that means I don't have to sleep on the couch over there I definitely will." His smile turned into a grin and his hands rested on the sides of her hips.

Her cheeks blushed slightly. "Maybe it's about time that you move in." Jesara shrugged her shoulders and shot him a shy grin as she wiped away a single tear from under her eye. Her gaze drifted over to the clock on her wall - it was already close to 1 am in the night. "And maybe it's time to go to bed. It's already past midnight."

Without much effort Marik lifted her up and carried her on his arms into the direction of the bedroom. Jesara squeaked and laughed in joy and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "What the hell are you doing!" She chucked and swung her legs playfully in the air.

"Laying my _wife_ to bed, what else?" He answered with a smirk playing on his tanned lips. Carefully he manoeuvred them through the bedroom door. The lights were out and the room almost as dark as the night. Only the city lights of Domino illuminated the room and painted a slight contrast to the interior.

"But I'm still wearing my dress! I need to change." She urged with a playful laugh, but then Marik threw her gently onto her bed and then kneeled himself over her. For a second she held her breath as he bend over her and propped himself up with one arm on each side of her body.

"Nothing I couldn't fix within a second." Marik whispered with a smirk; his lavender irises literally glowed in the dark as they stared down into her amber-olive pools - almost hypnotising. Carefully he brushed away a few hair strands from her face with his finger tips. A joyful shiver shot through her body as they touched her cheeks and stroked across her ear.

"What are you up to, Mr. Ishtar?" Jesara asked sarcastically and nibbled on her bottom lip quite nervously. Her voice was close to whispering and she could feel how her heart started to bump faster and faster. She felt the beating of her fluttering heart pounding against her ribcage. But her question was only answered by him with his lips meeting hers. This one was different from the others they shared during that evening. Sensual, ardent but still tender, deepening with every moment that passed by. Jesara sensed how he smiled into the kiss while his lips playfully encircled hers.

She exhaled deeply when he broke the kiss and continued in her cheekbones, slowly moving down her neck and it made her flesh crawl in a millisecond. Her hand ruffled through the sandy blonde hair on the back of his head; the other one stroked over the side of his abdomen. With every pleasant shiver that overwhelmed her senses her fingers tensed and her nails dug into the material of his shirt.

A soft moan escaped from her lips when Marik forced his right leg between hers, followed by his left. Her brain and senses almost turned into confetti with every touch of the soft skin of his lips on her neck. Time became non-existent and she almost lost every track of it.

Suddenly Jesara's cell phone started to ring in her living room, filling the silence of their intimate togetherness with a vexing melody. She cringed at the sudden disturbance and her eyes shot wide open.

"Ignore it." Marik commanded with a whisper and looked down at her; their noses almost touching. "Let it ring. That's what mailboxes are for." With that he pressed his lips on hers again before she could give him an answer and Jesara gave into it without resistance. Jesara's phone fell silent again and whoever disturbed them at such unholy hours probably left a message on her mailbox right now. She could call back in the morning; she thought before her senses fell into a kind of trance again, giving in to the moment and enjoying every second of it.

Within a split second her breath got heavier and deeper as she felt his hand drifting from her knee up her thigh, stroking over her hips like a feather and underneath her little black dress. When his warm hand reached the bare skin of her waist she broke the kiss to inhale loud and deeply. Jesara's lips started to form a word, but before she was able to speak the first syllable her cell phone started to ring again. They stared into each others eyes intensively while the vexing melody and vibration noise disturbed their intimate encounter again.

"Don't." Marik commanded under his breath again and grabbed both of her wrists to pin them to the mattress beside her head to prevent her from getting up. "Don't destroy that moment now. Nothing could be so important."

"How could you know that?" Jesara didn't resist or squirm under his thigh grip on her, knowing he would let go of her when she asked for it seriously. "It's the second call in about five minutes."

Suddenly also Marik's cell phone started to ring on the kitchen island, playing another melody in a bugging unison with Jesara's cell. A deep sigh escaped from his throat.

"Marik." She urged. "Let go of me. What if something bad has happened on their way home?" With her words spoken he loosened his grip on her wrists and she shoved him beside to get up from the bed. "Sorry, but I can't do that when there's a possible emergency…"

"Don't apologise. Go and see who disturbs the first night I'm able to spend with you in more than two years." Marik sighed and slumped down on the bed, his palm meeting his forehead. She could tell from his reaction that the phone terror crossed his plans - whatever he had in store for her tonight.

Jesara rushed into her living room at a quick pace and grabbed for her cell phone, which fell silent in the second she reached it.

"It was Yugi!" She said a bit louder for Marik to hear her in the bedroom. "That can't be good. He wouldn't call in the middle of the night just for fun."

Without hesitating she pressed the call button and held the cell phone to her ear. It didn't take long and Yugi answered the call. Jesara's gaze grew concerned when she heard his panicking voice.

"Yugi! What's wrong? You called me two times. Did anything happen?" She asked and went in circles; something she often did when she talked to someone on the phone. Meanwhile Marik stood up from the bed and leant himself against the doorframe, his arms crossed in front of his chest. A bugged expression was written to his tanned face as he watched Jesara pacing around in her living room; listening to Yugi on the cell. He couldn't understand what the boy told her on the other side of the cell phone, but she would tell him anyways.

Suddenly Jesara stopped and stared at Marik with shocked, widened eyes. He arched a brow in suspicion; her sudden change of expression worried him. Her palm covered her mouth and she never broke eye contact while she listened to whatever bad news Yugi had to tell.

"Oh my god." She exclaimed, every colour of her skin vanished from her face. "Where are you now?" Again she paused and listened. "We are on the way! We'll be there in no time!" With that she ended the call.

"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Marik asked in concernment and drew a few steps closer to her.

"Someone broke into Yugi's home and stole the millennium rod and ring. His grandfather tried to stop them, but he got injured was brought to the Domino hospital." Jesara repeated what Yugi told her on the phone with a pale face and panic literally written to her face. "We need to get going, Marik."

His lavender eyes widened in shock too as she told him the latest news and his muscular upper body tensed within a second. "WHAT? Please tell me that you're joking!" Marik shouted out, not sure if his ears had failed him.

"I'm not kidding. Come on!" Jesara urged and rushed into the foyer and hastily put on the first shoes she could get. In front of the building they jumped onto Marik's crimson red motorcycle and Jesara wrapped her arms around his waist as the motor came to life. The bright light of the ride illuminated the night in front of them when they left with a drift.

**xx**

"Yugi!" Jesara exclaimed as she ran down the busy corridors of the third floor, Marik followed her on heel and they came to a halt in front of the young boy and the gang. "We came here as fast as possible." She was fighting for air from all the running and climbing up several stairs.

"Jess, Marik. Thank you so much for coming. I'm sorry that I had to disturb you, but… It was an emergency…" Yugi apologised. Tea, Joey and Tristan greeted the two Egyptians with a wry expression on their faces.

"Yugi, can you tell me what happened in detail? How is your grandfather? I hope everything is good and he recovers soon." Marik asked and grabbed Jesara's hand; he could feel her anxiousness and hoped it would comfort her at least a little bit.

The boy's expression was sad and nervous; his violet eyes shot the sandy blonde a troubling glance. "I don't know. Tea, Joey and Tristan walked me home to the game shop, but when we arrived there we saw that the glass door of the entrance was broken. We found my grandfather lying on the floor unconscious. While I called for the ambulance Joey checked the whole house if anything was stolen and well…" Yugi explained with a weak voice, trying to hold back a tear.

"Yugi's room was completely devastated; somebody searched for something in there." Joey cut in and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "In the end we noticed that the millennium rod and ring were missing. Whoever broke into Yugi's house came to get them. And we guess that Mr. Muto tried to stop them and they knocked him out."

"How is he doing now?" Jesara asked; her hand held Marik's in a tight grip.

"He will be okay, but whoever stole the items hit him quite harshly. The doctors are running tests on him and will update us as soon as they have any news about his physical state." Yugi answered.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't answer the phone earlier…" Jesara sighed and looked down to the white hospital floor, feeling more than guilty.

"No sweat. You couldn't have done anything to help us and it was in the middle of the night." Tristan answered with a shrug.

"But who could have known about the items and why did they just steal the rod and the ring?" Marik asked curiously, his lavender gaze glued to the little Yugi in front of him. "Do you have an idea?"

Yugi shook his head. "No… But I'm glad that I hid the necklace and the eye in grandfather's tiny safe. Thank god that they didn't found them."

"Everybody who experienced the power of those toys could be the thief. What if it was Bakura? I mean that evil spirit of the ring always found a way back to him." Joey suspected.

"Whoever it was… we need to get them back." Marik stated, trying to keep cool but his expression was the evidence for the opposite. "Without the items you can't fulfil the destiny of the pharaoh. I hope that your grandfather wakes up soon and can tell us more about what happened. Maybe he knows who stole the millennium items."

"I hope that he still remembers everything…" Jesara sighed and wrapped her arms around Marik's waist. "And I thought that the horror was finally over."

"Yugi, please be sure of the fact that I will help you as good as I can. Just tell me how I can assist you. I want to help you the same way you helped me back in Battle City." Marik said emphatically. Yugi nodded at him thankfully.

"But I'm afraid that we can't do anything else than wait now…" Tea muttered with a weary expression. "I'll go and get us some coffee while we wait. I think there's a 24/7 coffee shop across the street."

"I'll come with you and help you." Jesara offered and loosened her grip on Marik's waist. She looked up at Marik and forced a smile. "I'll get you a black tea with milk." He nodded at her and handed over his black leather wallet. She shot him a questioning glance.

"Pay for all of them. My credit card is in there." He answered and placed a kiss on her forehead. With that Tea and Jesara left to get some coffee-to-go for the gang. They didn't talk much on the way to the elevator, an awkward silence filled the space between the female best friends.

Both of them had no idea that the latest events were just the beginning of a whole new danger. Little did they know that things were going to be worse.

Much worse.

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**AN: Hope you enjoyed that new chapter and all of the stuff that happened in it.**

**Please review!**


	4. Come Home

**AN: Update time again! I'm so happy that this new chapter almost wrote itself. The story is now slowly building up; I hope you all didn't find the first chapter too boring. :P**

**Enjoy the third chapter and I'd be happy if you leave a review to the story. Also thanks to those who already favourited and followed SO.**

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**CHAPTER III  
****Come Home**

Jesara and Tea left the hospital through the big automatic doors made from glass. Although it was about half past 2 am in the morning lots of people rushed in and outside the building. Right across the street they saw the neon signs of the 24/7 coffee shop Tea mentioned before. Patiently the two girls waited for the pedestrian sign to go green.

"It's horrible what happened to Mr Muto…" Tea sighed as the two crossed the street. "Hopefully he gets well soon."

The city lights of Domino painted various colours to their faces artistically with every metre they came closer to the coffee shop, which had a '24/7' blinking neon sign on the store front. Jesara hugged her arms around her upper body to keep herself warm; it got a bit breezy and the night cooled down the air by a few degrees.

"I'm sure he will. But I'm also extremely concerned about the stolen millennium items." Jesara answered and stopped at the store front. Her voice was almost whispering; she didn't want to catch the attention of strangers while she was talking about the ancient items. Who knew who could be listening. "You've seen what disaster the items can cause when they're in the wrong hands. Especially the millennium rod and its ability to control ones mind and body entirely shouldn't be underestimated."

"I remember that… yes." Tea looked down to the pavement when she remembered how Marik controlled her mind during the duel against Yugi at Domino harbour. "But who could have stolen them?"

Jesara shrugged her shoulders and concernment about the latest incidence was literally written to her slightly tanned face. "I wish I knew. But it wouldn't surprise me a lot if it really was Bakura."

"I'm afraid that we will find out soon enough. Nobody would steal those items without a reason. Whoever it was he or she will possibly come back to get the other items." Tea exhaled and rubbed her temples. Fatigue was evident on her face after that long day and latest events.

"I guess…" Jesara let out a sigh and grabbed for the doorhandles of the coffee shop. "You look like you didn't sleep for days, Tea. Let's get you a coffee first. By now the only thing we can do is to wait and see."

The two girls entered the shop and got in line behind a taxi driver and a man dressed in a white coat; he was obviously a doctor from the hospital and on a night shift. It didn't take long and they placed their order of cappuccinos, espressos and a black tea with milk. The barista of the shop asked them to wait a few minutes; since he was the only employee in duty it took him a bit of time to prepare a bigger amount of beverages. Jesara payed with Marik's credit card he gave her and gave the barista an understanding smile.

Tea rested her elbows on the counter while their beverages were prepared and cupped her face in her palms; trying to stay awake. Jesara turned around and leant herself against the counter beside Tea with her back. She looked outside the store through the glass front and observed the ongoing on the street. The delicious smell of freshly brewed coffee met her nose and she inhaled deeply. Hopefully a good cappuccino would wake her and Tea up again while they waited for the diagnosis of Mr Muto.

She looked at nothing in particular, but then a figure standing across the street caught her attention. He or she - Jesara couldn't make out if it was a man or a woman - was dressed in a white kaftan and the face was completely covered by a cape. The garment was similar to those Marik used to wear as the leader of the Rare Hunters. Jesara knew that it was an egyptian outfit, not very modern or up-to-date. It was more like that person just came straight from the past.

Her eyes were automatically glued to the figure, who seemed to obverse and stare at her intensively. Jesara didn't even dare to blink. It was like she got hypnotised and minutes rushed by like seconds while she stared back at the stranger outside the store.

"Come home." A distorted voice cut through her mind, it echoed in her head and all other noises from her surroundings fell silent. "Come home." She froze and her amber-olive eyes widened, staring at the stranger across the street.

"Your order is ready! Sorry that it took me a bit longer to prepare. Enjoy!" The voice of the barista startled Jesara out of her almost trance like state. Her shoulders cringed and she turned around to look at the young boy, who placed their steaming beverages on the counter with a gentle smile.

"Oh." Jesara exhaled. "Thank you."

"Oh god, I really need that right now." Tea said and grabbed three of the cups at once. Jesara took the others and tried to make sure she won't spill or drop them while balancing them back to the hospital.

Jesara look over her shoulders back to the streets outside where the stranger stood to see if he or she was still there. But the figure was gone - like it never has been there. She arched a brow curiously. What was that? _'Come home… What in Ra's sake was that…'_ She thought to herself and blamed it on the alcohol. _'Maybe I should stop drinking too much wine.'_

"Jess?" Tea asked. "Can we go?"

"Huh." She huffed. The stranger still tied up her mind. "Yeah. Sure."

When the two girls crossed the street again to go back to the hospital Jesara nervously looked left and right, hoping to see that stranger again to prove herself she didn't hallucinate. But she couldn't get a single trance from the figure dressed in white. Jesara shrugged her shoulders and finally blamed it on the two glasses of wine she had with Marik earlier that evening.

"Are you looking for something special, Jess?" Tea asked with a raised brow and shot her a curious glance as they walked through the sliding doors of the Domino hospital.

"No no." Jesara answered and pressed the button of the elevator with her elbow. "I'm just nervous because of that whole fucked up evening and night. Never mind."

They looked around the hallway where they left the others. Soon the girls found them sitting in the waiting lounge of the station. Yugi paced around the room in circles impatiently; Joey, Tristan and Marik made themselves comfortable on the lounge chairs and tried to hide their restlessness - without much success. Marik's right leg fidgeted up and down anxiously and his lavender gaze looked at nothing in particular outside the window. With the opening noise of the doors his gaze immediately shot back to see who entered the room. A smile raised onto his lips when he saw Jesara and Tea in tow walking in with their hands full of cups-to-go.

"Hey guys." Tea greeted with a forced smile. "Coffee is served, Help yourself." She said and placed the cups on the table in the middle of the seating group. The gang greeted her with a nod and thankful smile.

"Hi." Jesara whispered greeted Marik with a kiss on his temple and handed him the black tea she got for him, such as his credit card. "Anything new while we were away?"

He shook his head and brushed his hand gently over her cheek. "No, not yet. Thank you."

"Oh…" Jesara sighed and sat down beside Marik who laid his arm around her shoulders. "Take care, I don't know if it's still hot."

"Thanks for the coffee, girls. I really needed that now." Joey sighed and grabbed one of the espressos. "That waiting makes me sick."

Jesara took a sip from her cappuccino and cuddled herself into Marik's hug. The intimate moment they shared earlier before Yugi's call ended it too early came to her mind and she asked herself mentally where it would have lead and ended without this evening's events. She looked up at Marik and bit her lip, her cheeks blushed slightly when she thought back to the touches of his hands and lips on her bare skin. She tried her best to hold back the playful smile that formed on her lips.

"Is Yugi Muto in here!?" A doctor entered the room without looking at the gang; instead his eyes were fixed on his notes in his hands. With that Yugi almost jumped a few inches into the air and his violet eyes widened; but still the young boy didn't know if the doctor had good or bad news for him.

"Yes! That's me! How is my grandfather?" The young boy asked nervously and ran over to the man with the white coat and nerd glasses.

"Your grandfather is doing well and he will recover soon. He woke up, but he is still a bit dizzy from the hit on his head. We will keep him here overnight and I'm sure he'll be able to go home in the morning." The doctor answered professionally.

The gang listened attentive and let out a relieving sigh. "Thank god! I was so concerned about him!" Tea exclaimed and hugged Yugi in joy. Happiness was written to his face; he definitely calculated with the worst case.

"Thank Ra." Jesara said under her breath. Marik just answered with a nod; obviously the fact that somebody stole two millennium items tied up his mind. She could tell from his lavender gaze that the only thing he thought about was that one question: _Who?_

"Can we see him?" Yugi asked the doctor, still excited that his grandfather was okay.

"Yes, you can see him. But don't make it too long. Visiting hours are long over. And how I said, he is still a bit dizzy. You have five minutes, okay?" The doctor answered and then turned on heel to leave the waiting area.

**xx**

Yugi entered the hospital room with caution - he didn't want to disturb the other patient behind the curtain that separated the two bed-room. Jesara, Marik and the rest of the gang followed him on heel.

"Grandfather!" Yugi tried his best to keep his excitement to see his beloved grandfather at bay. "Thank god you're okay…"

"Hi Mr Muto." Tea, Joey, Jesara and Tristan said in unison. Marik stood a few steps behind Jesara since he didn't know the old man well.

"Yugi…" Solomon muttered as he recognised his grandson and his friends enter the room.

"How are you? I was worried sick about you. Do you remember what happened?" Yugi asked and sat down beside his grandfather's bed, he places his hand gently on his grandfather's.

"Oh Yugi." He sighed. "I don't know exactly. You've been at Jesara's place for dinner and after I finished cleaning the game shop I decided to go to bed early. And then I awoke from the clashing sound of breaking glass."

The teens listened to what Solomon had to tell about what happened. Jesara mentioned for Marik to come closer and then she grabbed for his hand. Their eyes locked for a moment and she stared into those lavender pools - like her gaze wanted to say _'I'm concerned too.'_

"What happened then?" Joey asked and rubbed the back of his head.

"Well, of course I stood up and wanted to take a look if there was anybody trying to break into the game shop. When I went down the stairs somebody knocked me out and I fell to the ground. All I actually was able to see before I lost consciousness where two black leather boots under a lilac or deep purple material." Solomon explained. He did his best to tell them all he remembered from the attack.

Marik's lavender eyes shot wide open. _'Deep purple.'_ Jesara didn't miss his reaction and stared up at him with a shocked gaze, her mouth slightly agape. As soon as the old man finished his sentence Yugi and the others turned back to look at Marik - it was needless to say that all of them had the very same suspicion.

"Marik." Yugi spoke up, his tone still gentle but Jesara could sense that he was losing trust in Marik. "Didn't you provide deep purple coloured cloaks for your Rare Hunters organisation?"

Silence.

Marik nodded; his jawline tensed up and Jesara could feel how the grip of his hand around hers got tighter. Every muscle in his body was strained. "Correct."

"You know how that looks like, Marik, huh?" Joey cut in and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Tea and Tristan watched their reaction with caution.

"Yes." The sandy blonde sighed, his gaze still as shocked because if this little new detail. "But I swear that I have nothing to do with that attack on your grandfather, Yugi. The first thing I did after Battle City is that I ordered the immediate disbandment of the organisation. And of course I ordered Odion to make sure that my… slaves… did how I said. Believe me, I am as shocked as you and I have no idea what they could possible want to do with the rod and ring."

"I mean, we're not even sure that it was a group of Rare Hunters." Jesara cut in.

"But only they know about the ancient items beside Bakura. Ishizu and Odion aren't in town and Shadi wouldn't do such a thing." Yugi answered. A golden light illuminated the Anubis eye on top of his puzzle - the pharaoh was now in control. "Yugi is right. Who else would break into his house to steal the items… dressed in the signature outfit of your criminal organisation?"

"Marik." Jesara spoke up and the sandy blonde looked down at her with a wry expression on his tanned face, his jawline still tensed. "Could it be that they just decided to continue without you? What if they just ignored your order?"

The pharaoh arched a brow at her words, leant back in the chair he sat him and crossed his legs. Tea, Joey and Tristan looked at each other with a puzzled expression.

"Well, that's a possibility. I have to admit that the power of the millennium rod was one of the reasons why that organisation worked so well. Now that I'm not in possession of it anymore they don't have any reasons to obey my order." Marik thought out loud.

"Sounds plausible." The pharaoh added with a stern expression. "Maybe they stole the rod to give it to their new leader. Whatever, we need to find them and we need to get the items back as soon as possible."

Everybody nodded in unison.

"Pharaoh, I know you don't trust me and I gave you more than one good reason to do so, but I just wanted to say that I really have nothing to do with that. I will help you to get the items back as good as I can. Let me know when I can do anything else to help you." Marik said.

Suddenly the door if the hospital room opened and the doctor from earlier stepped in, giving them an unmistakable glare. "Didn't I say don't make it too long? I have to ask you to leave. Mr Muto needs to get some rest. You can come back at 9 am."

"It's okay, Yugi. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm sure that I can come home tomorrow morning." Solomon said gently and then yawned. "I'm really tired."

The gang decided to make their way home to get some sleep. In fact there was nothing else they could do right now, but they arranged to meet for lunch the next day to think about the next steps. Marik said that he'll call Ishizu and Odion in Egypt ti ask them for help the next day. They waved goodbye at each other in front if the hospital. Marik and Jesara hopped onto the crimson red motorcycle and drove back home through the now calm, almost silent city streets of Domino city.

But before they drove back to her flat Marik decided to stop by the hotel he had checked in after Battle City to get some clothes and other necessary things. He would come back in the next day to get the rest of his belongings and check out.

Back in her flat Jesara hurried to change into her sleeping outfit and removed her make up from her face - at least what was left of it. Her cheeks blushed when she entered her bedroom and was met by two lavender pools and Marik's topless, sleeping pants-only outfit. But she was already too exhausted and sleepy from that stressful day to enjoy the sight. Just minutes after she slumped onto her bed and cuddled herself close to his chest Jesara drifted off and fell asleep - hoping for a calm sleep without nightmares.

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**AN: I hope you liked chapter three :-) What do you think who that stranger possibly was? Let me know what you think :P Please review!**


	5. Talking In My Dreams

**AN: Update Sunday! Wuhu! Sorry for the long wait, but life and work got in the way. Additionally this chapter wasn't easy to write for me - especially the first part of it. Hope you are enjoying the story so far.**

**Content Warning: This chapter contains quite intimate details :P so if you're not fine with reading that kind of stuff: I warned you. I really wanted to try to write a lemon, but OMG that's so hard. Maybe I try later again in other chapters.**

**Enjoy!**

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**CHAPTER IV  
****Talking In My Dreams**

Darkness, grey and lilac clouds were the only thing she saw through her amber-olive eyes as she stared into the nothing. The silence in the place she feared the most was almost oppressive. For her it was obvious where she was; once again she had to face the shadow realm. Another dream? Or could it be real this time?

Her palms and knees rested on the ice cold ground. Jesara turned her head left and right nervously, trying to get a glimpse of what she didn't want to see - too big was her fear of facing Marik's evil side again - but there wasn't a single trace of him. Never did her breaths felt so intense, never did the silence feel so frightening. Her body shivered from the coldness that felt like thousands of needles poked into her skin.

"Please…" She whispered to herself. "Not again…" Again she looked around, but she couldn't see anybody in the pitch-black darkness.

Slowly the silhouette of a man formed from the clouds just a few steps away from her. It took a few seconds before she was able to see who stood in front of her. Jesara saw sandy blonde hair, tanned skin and lavender eyes that stared straight into her soul - but not in the charming and loving way she knew. His gaze was stern, cold and cruel - just like she remembered him from the time during Battle City. His muscular arms were crossed in front of his chest as his lilac irises looked down at her arrogantly.

"Marik…" Jesara said under her breath, locking eyes with the sandy blonde that stood dangerously tall in front of her. "Why are we here?"

But her question remained ignored by him. But a smirk slowly formed on his lips; one of those she hated the most - his evil one. He didn't need to say a single word, but his glare almost shred her heart to pieces.

"W-Why do you look at me like that?" Jesara stuttered as tears gathered in the corner of her eyes. "D-did I do anything…wrong?"

Again Marik said nothing. Jesara didn't know nor understand why he acted like that towards her. Why did he glare down at her with such a coldness with those heartless eyes. He chuckled evilly and she cringed from the sound of the heartless laugh. Suddenly he turned around; his back facing her as he smirked back at her over his shoulder.

"Marik…?" She said his name under his breath again.

He broke eye contact and looked away from her. Then he started walk away with one slow calculated step after another.

"Don't go! Wait!" She called out loud.

He went on and didn't even react to her plea.

"Please, don't leave me alone here! Marik!" She cried with an almost breaking voice. His silhouette slowly started to vanish in the shadows. A tear ran down her cheek before she screamed out his name again, begging for him to stay.

**xx**

"Don't leave!" She screamed out loud and tossed and turned around in the bed. "Marik, stay here!" Jesara flailed around with her arms uncontrollably just like she wanted to defend herself from something. "Don't leave me alone here!"

"Hey! Wake up!" Marik bend over her and shook her panicking. "Jesara. Wake up."

Suddenly her amber-olive, tear stained eyes shot wide open when she awoke from the nightmare. They locked with concerned lavender pools that glowed down at her in the dark. Her breath was heavy; she fought for air and her sleeping shirt was soaked with sweat from the dream. It took her a moment before she realised that she was back in reality - save in his arms.

"It's okay." Marik whispered to calm her down. His hand brushed away wet hair strand from her forehead. "It was just a nightmare. Everything is fine."

Jesara's shaking hands grabbed for his shoulders. "Thank Ra…" She exhaled between heavy breaths. Slowly the fear in her eyes got replaced with ease. "You are here." Her head slumped back into her pillow in relief.

A slight smile formed on his lips. "I'll always be." He stroked gently over her right cheek to comfort her, his upper body still bent over her still shaking one. "It was just a nightmare."

"You promise?" She panted. Marik answered with a nod and his smile grew a bit wider before he placed a brief kiss on her lips, which she accepted by pulling him closer to her. Within seconds her shaking body relaxed while their kiss deepened. All she wanted now was to feel save and close to him after that thrilling dream she had.

The bedroom was still dark from the barely existing light of the nighttime. The light of cars rushing by down the street painted artistic moving contrasts to the furniture and bodies. The calming sound of heavy rain filled the nighttime silence in an almost hypnotising way in which Jesara could loose herself in.

All she was able to think of was to be as close to him as possible after that nightmare she had. How it felt to see him walk away was so real for a second and it was almost unbearable. The warmth of his hands gently touched the bare skin of her waist under the silky material of her pyjama shirt. Her upper body tensed with every inch his fingertips stroked up and she couldn't help herself but ran her hand through his sandy blonde hair a bit more roughly. A pleasureful moan escaped from her lips when he forced one of his legs between hers.

Slowly his fingers gently unbuttoned the top piece her nightgown while his lips ran down her chin… throat… chest… just like the soft touch of a feather. Her heart pounded faster than she could remember ever before; her skin burnt in a pleasurable way; every breath she took was deeper than the one before. As she felt the warmth of his breath on her stomach that made its way downwards her fingernails gently dug into his shoulders. With that she lost every remaining gleam of self-control. That night they took another step in their 'old' new relationship. Never did Jesara expect it to overwhelm her every senses in such an intense way.

**xx**

The golden morning sun shone straight through her bedroom window, the warming beams of light stroked her bare skin that was covered in silky mauve coloured bedsheets. Jesara cuddled herself to the side and buried her face into her cozy pillow while she was still slumbering peacefully. Marik already got up earlier and decided to prepare freshly brewed coffee such as pancakes for breakfast. At least he tried. He rubbed the back of his head and ruffled through his golden blonde hair while he stared down to the pan with an arched brow. _'Hopefully they taste better than they look.'_

Marik then grabbed the maple sirup and put everything on a plate and balanced the breakfast carefully into the bedroom on his bare feet. He put it down on the night stand without making much noise. His gaze drifted down to Jesara who was still sleeping with her bare back faced to him. Guilt filled every inch of his features and expression when his lavender eyes met the traces of what he'd done to her in their past; the reason why she ran away and tried to hate him with all her might. Jesara's stigmas were deep and covered her back from her scapulas down to her hips. Remorse and self-loathe crossed his tanned expression, but he couldn't take off his eyes from their past's traces he wished he never left on her soul and skin. _'I'm nothing better than my goddamn father…'_ Marik thought to himself and carefully sat down on the bed, letting out a weary sigh.

"I'm so sorry." He said under his breath to himself. Jesara slowly awoke from her slumber and turned around; sleepy amber-olive eyes met sad lavender orbs. She stretched her features and rubbed her forehead to wake herself up.

"Sorry for what?" Jesara murmured and formed a still sleepy smile on her lips.

Marik shot her a surprised look; he didn't expect her to be awake. His lungs inhaled deeply before answering her question. "For what I've done to you. I mean your back…"

She grabbed for his hand that rested beside her on the mattress. "It's okay…" Jesara sighed. "We've had that topic before and lets never talk about it one more time, okay?"

"Okay." He nodded and forced a smile to his lips. They said nothing while they kept staring into each others eyes.

"Do I smell pancakes?" She asked and looked over to the tablet that rested on her nightstand. "I'm starving."

"I'm not surprised." His smile grew wider; then he leant down to her to place a kiss on her forehead.

After enjoying breakfast in bed and cuddling they took a shower and started to prepare for the day. Jesara decided for her signature black skinny jeans, olive green tank top and leather jacket. Marik slipped into his dark blue slim-fit jeans and black sleeveless top while Jesara took a sip of her second coffee that morning. In the other hand she held her phone and looked for the number of Yugi.

It didn't take long until Yugi answered his phone. "Good morning, Jess." The boy greeted friendly on the other side of the line.

"Hi Yugi. How is your grandfather doing?" She asked between sipping her coffee.

"He's fine and can come home today. I guess they will discharge them in about an hour." He told her on the phone about the news. Yugi sounded way more positive today than just a few hours ago.

"I'm glad to hear that. Shall we meet at the game shop after you brought your grandfather home? We should try to reach Odion and Ishizu in egypt to ask them for help. Marik and I will bring the laptop to call them via Skype." She suggested. The events of last night were now more than real again. Their intimate experience almost made her forget about it. Last night was like they were in a bubble - far away from reality, time and space.

**xx**

The humming motor of Marik's crimson red motorcycle fell silent as they came to a halt in front of the game shop and Jesara loosened her grip of her arms around his waist to get off the ride. On the way here she enjoyed every second of cuddling herself close to his back and inhaling the tantalising scent of his perfume. Jesara let out a little sigh as she thought of the fact that there might be no time to enjoy the new facets of their relationship to the fullest. Now they needed to focus on the stolen millennium items and find the one who is behind all of it.

"Hi Yugi! Tea, Joey, Tristan! Good to see you." Jesara greeted with a forced smile as the two egyptians entered the room of Yugi. "How is your grandfather?"

"Hi guys. He's fine and sleeping right now in his room. Things could be worse. Thank you." The teen answered. The gang sat on the carpeted floor of his room and greeted them in unison. All of them looked like they didn't sleep for days; especially Joey had dark circles under his brown eyes and ruffled blonde hair.

"Mornin' guys, good to see ya." The blonde murmured with tired eyes. His hands were literally glued to his coffee mug. Jesara held back a chuckle when she saw Joey sitting on the floor beside Tristan; looking like he had the worst hangover of his life.

"Thanks for bringing the laptop with you, Marik. Maybe Ishizu and Odion have an idea what this is all about." Yugi said thankfully.

The dialing tone of Skype rang through the strained silence of the room and everyone focused on the monitor, awaiting Ishizu and Odion to accept the call. It didn't take long and the black haired Egyptian woman with the piercing blue eyes appeared on the screen. Odion sat right behind her and greeted them with a wave of his big hand.

"Sister, I'm so happy to see you." Marik said with a strained smile. "But I'm afraid that we don't have time for chitchat. Something happened yesterday night and we need your help."

"Marik, what's wrong? What do you mean?" Ishizu asked and arched one of her thin black eyebrows.

"Strangers broke into Yugi's home and stole the millennium rod and the ring. His grandfather got hurt, but thank Ra he's fine." The sandy blonde told his brother and sister through webcam. Their eyes shot wide open at his words.

"Oh Ra! What!?" Ishizu cried out loud.

"Your ears didn't fail you, sister…" Marik sighed. "Yugi's grandfather remembers that those who broke into their house wore deep purple cloaks. So we have a reasonable suspicion that it were Rare Hunters. Could that be?"

"But the organisation abolished. Just like you ordered, Marik. I've been to the old headquarter and it was abandoned." Odion said and narrowed his olive eyes in dismay. "I made sure that the Rare Hunters belong to history and cause no more harm to anybody."

"That may be, Odion. But that are the facts we know. We thought that they stole them to give them to their new leader to replace me and carry on with the business… or maybe worse." He insisted; his tanned hands slowly formed into fists and Jesara could tell from his expression that he grew more and more angry. Not because of Odion who maybe didn't do his job properly, but because his former organisation disobeyed his order and that the whole mess maybe his fault… again.

"Could it be that they settled somewhere else to carry on without your knowing?" Tea asked curiously and peaked over her friends shoulders.

"That's a possibility, Tea." Ishizu answered. "But what scares me the most is that both items together have extremely dangerous abilities. Their powers combined shouldn't be underestimated. But I guess that you remember what happened during Battle City."

"What do you mean?" Jesara cut in and rested her hands on Marik's shoulders. She nibbled on her bottom lip nervously.

"Both items have a strong connection to the shadow realm. That's what scares me the most." Her sister-in-law murmured; her lips formed into a thin line. "We will keep our eyes open. We really need to get them back. Without them we don't have a chance to fulfil the Pharaoh's destiny."

Jesara swallowed hard as Ishizu's words sunk in. Could the latest events have anything to do with her nightmares and Marik's dark side haunting her dreams? And what about the figure in the white cloak she saw yesterday night?

"Could it be possible that they are able to get in touch with _him_?" Jesara asked out of the blue. Everyone looked at her with widened eyes. Silence filled the room after her spoken words and it made her just more nervous than she already was.

"It wouldn't be impossible…" Ishizu sighed in dismay. "Why do you ask, Jesara?"

"Oh…" She inhaled deeply. "I-It was just a spontaneous thought." Jesara stuttered and looked down to the ground. She didn't want to tell Ishizu and Odion about her latest nightmares in front of all her friends. "Could they bring him back from the shadow realm with the millennium rod and the ring…?"

A shudder shot through everyone's body just by thinking of who Jesara mentioned by that. She wrapped her arms around her upper body for comfort and begged mentally that there wasn't any possibility that her nightmares could become true. Marik's lavender irises stared at her intensively and he knew exactly what troubled her. Maybe her nightmares weren't just bad dreams; maybe they've been more like forerunners of what they all feared the most.

Ishizu hesitated, her piercing blue eyes and the expression in her face said it all. Also Odion's face grew darker just by thinking of it. But Jesara already had her answer and could feel how the blood froze in hr veins.

"There is a way they could do it…" The black haired Egyptian muttered. "But I highly doubt that they try to bring him back. Whatever their plan is why should _he_ help them achieving their goals as their leader?"

"I don't know… It was just an idea…" Jesara whispered and locked eyes with Marik, who watched her intensively.

"I will do my best to find them, Marik." Odion cut in. Determination was written to his olive eyes. "I will keep you updated."

"Thank you, Ishizu…Odion." Yugi said.

"Odion and I will call you if we found out anything new. Please take care of yourself. Whatever their plan is I wouldn't be surprised if they seek revenge." Ishizu warned them with a serious tone. "Goodbye."

"We will." Jesara groaned. "Take care too."

With that they ended the video call and the screen went black. The call didn't ease their nerves at all, instead the gang's anxiousness intensified. But probably all they could do now was to wait for Ishizu's and Odion's updates. It was certain that a storm was coming for them; little did they know that Battle City was just the beginning.

* * *

**AN: Hope you enjoyed chapter 4! :-) Make me happy and leave a review. Until next time! Xoxo**


	6. Remember

**AN: Hey there! Sorry for the long wait, but my job got me busy AF lately. I also had a little writers block and decided to work over my first story One Million Reasons for some corrections and detail work.**

**A little info before: Since there's alcohol in that chapter, let's pretend they are all fully aged and are allowed to drink alcohol. ;-) **

**But now I'm back with chapter 5. Long story short: Enjoy! :-)**

* * *

**CHAPTER V  
****Remember**

Jesara let out a heavy sigh while she wrote down the hopefully correct answers to the questions of her final exams worksheet. She studied a lot lately to pass the last tests of her school time and also to distract herself from the disappearing of the millennium rod and ring. Two weeks had happed by and they didn't come any closer to an answer for that mystery. Ishizu and Odion also didn't found out anything new. It was like the items have just fallen off the face of the earth.

She lost herself in daydreams again as usual, but since she finished the tests and still had about thirty minutes of remaining time she didn't care less about it. A gust forced the leafs of a nearby tree into an elegant dance of nature. Her chin rested in her palm while she watched it with her amber-olive eyes that looked tired from a lack of sleep lately. Nightmares still haunted her dreams once in a while and the famous movies of "Nightmare On Elmstreet" seemed to get awfully real for her. Somedays she was afraid of falling asleep; instead she studied the whole night and drowned herself in literally a hundred cups of coffee. And when learning was done it was the sex that kept her awake all night long, preventing her from bad dreams.

Bitterly she remembered how much he disgusted her when their paths crossed again during Battle City and how helplessly she fell in love with him again - or she didn't ever stop loving him at all. However. Expect of the stolen millennium items and the hallucinations of weird people in white cloaks whispering to her in her head she couldn't be happier with how much her life had changed since she ran into him again.

Jesara still had no idea what these awkward hallucinations were about and why she sees that stranger every once in a while. There was one word that came up in her head very often lately: origin. He always whispered to her to remember it. But why?

"Alright. Last five minutes to guy! Do the last checks and finish your worksheets." The teacher announced from the front of the classroom. Her high pitched voice startled Jesara out of her thoughts. Then she went over her answers on the paper once again. As the school bell announced the end of the test she and the other students stood up and handed in their work. Some of them with a wry expression written to their faces, some of them wore a confident grin on their lips - just like Mr. Rich & Famous in front of her. He must have been waiting for that moment for years and now there was nothing else he had to care about beside his focus on running Kaiba Corp.

After Jesara packed her stuff into the leather cross bag she left the classroom with Yugi, Tea, Joey and Tristan. "So, that's it obviously. We're officially done with school. I mean, how cool is that?" Yugi cheered happily, wearing that cute little innocent smile of his.

"I still can't believe it." Tea said softly in relief.

"How could you be so positive, guys? I hope I didn't mess up completely. That really was a hell of a test!" Joey growled rubbing his temples in exhaustion. Also Tristan didn't seem to be very positive.

"It wasn't that hard, Joey. I'm sure you'll pass the finals." Jesara reassured him and shot him a gentle smile, before it turned into a little grin. "I mean I really think that they don't want to have you in school for another year." Everyone, except Joey, chuckled in unison. The gang decided to meet for some drinks to celebrate later in the evening.

A smile formed on her lips when she left the school building and was met by two piercing lavender irises. Marik was already waiting to pick her up from school with his crimson red motorcycle. He leant himself elegantly against it and held his muscular arms gently crossed in front if his chest. A bunch of girls eyeballed him with blushed cheeks while they talked in whispers about that sexy stranger who parked his bike in front of their school. They stood with their mouth agape, disappointment written to their gazes, when Jesara approached him and was greeted by a tight hug of his arms.

"Hi." Jesara said in a gentle whisper. "Thanks for picking me up."

"Of course." Marik answered with a charming smirk. "How was the exam going?"

"No big deal. It was easy going." She reassured him and wrapped her arms around him and she could feel how the eyes of Marik's new fangirl club behind her bore into her back, sending goosebumps to her skin.

"How could it be otherwise? You almost didn't do anything else than studying." He then placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Any plans for today?"

"Yugi and the others asked to meet for a little celebration cocktail later in the evening. And since there's still not the tiniest trace of the missing items I'm afraid there's nothing else we could do." She muttered and shot him a weary glance and took her helmet from the backseat of Marik's bike.

Marik ruffled through his sandy blonde hair and let out a sigh. The missing items have tied up her mind extremely lately; it bothered her maybe more than Yugi himself. "Jesara, we will find them and figure out why they were stolen. I know that it drives you mad, but let's just enjoy the evening, okay?" He reassured her softly and helped her to put on the helmet - just like he did all this years ago. She nodded and forced a smile.

**xx**

Marik opened the door to the bar for her in his typical elegant gentlemen fashion. Yugi and the gang were already waiting for them at a table right in the middle of the cocktail bar. The furniture was made from a shimmering fabric in a deep emerald green shade that fitted perfectly to the dark silver wall colour. The flickering light of candles in a fancy vase on each table enhanced the room besides the dim lightning of also quite stylish hanging-lamps. Jesara wore a high-waisted slim fitting jeans combined with a crop top that had a quite nice v-neck; both in her favourite colour: black. The two pieces left a tiny gap between them that revealed a tiny bit of her stomach, but not too much so that the scars on her back weren't visible. She also wore the ankh earrings Marik had given to her a long time ago and a golden choker and armlets - similar to his typical jewellery. Her deep red lipstick and the messy up-do hairstyle gave her outfit the last finish. Marik decided for a white slim fitting man's shirt, which upper two buttons he left open, such as a dark grey jeans.

Joey waved at them in excitement when he noticed them entering the bar. "Jess! Marik! Over here! Glad to see ya!" He cheered when they approached the table. Yugi, Tea and Tristan greeted them in unison while they nibbled on various cocktails. Of course Tea had decided to go for a Pina Colada. Yugi and Tristan instead joyfully nibbled on an Appletini while Joey proved his courage and had ordered a Zombie.

"Hi guys. Looks like you're already having a lot of fun here, right?" Marik asked sheepishly as his lavender gaze wandered over the various alcoholic beverages that promised a pretty interesting evening which may end up in a hangover.

"Hi you." Yugi greeted them. "Guess so. We really deserved some fun after getting through the finals." He then handed him the cocktail menu so that Jesara and he could decide for one of the literally million fancy drinks the bar offered.

"Hi guys! What can I get ya?" The waitress asked with a charming smile as she came over to the table, giving Marik way more attention than Jesara right beside him. Her hair had a striking shade of platinum blonde and Jesara had to admit that she never saw such clear, light blue eyes like hers. She arched one of her brows in slight annoyance when the waitress, whose name-tag revealed that her name was obviously Mara, got a bit too close to Marik to take his order. After he decided to go for a Gin Tonic he wrapped his arm around Jesara's waist, giving her one of his sweet innocent smiles.

"Has my wife also decided for a drink?" He asked grinning, putting special emphasis to the word _wife_ loud enough for the waitress to hear. Of course her attempts of flirting with him didn't go unnoticed.

A smug smirk played on her lips at his words. "I'm going for a Virgin Caipirinha, thank you."

"Come on, Jess! Really?" Joey cut in, almost spitting out the last sip of his Zombie.

"I didn't sleep much lately and I'm not feeling that good for drinking today." She answered with a shrug. Then the waitress disappeared as fast as she came, wearing a little quirky expression on her face as she left to get their drinks.

"Just tell me when you want to go home. I don't want you to be out too long if you're not feeling good, okay?" Marik whispered to her, stroking his hand slightly across her back.

"Sure. Don't worry. I'm fine."

About an hour passed by. Joey was already on his second Zombie while Jesara was still nibbling on her alcohol-free Caipirinha and listened to all the various topics her friends talked about. Of course the main focus was on the exams, such as the incident with the stolen items and that there was still not the slightest trace of them. Tea also brought up that wedding topic that Jesara tried to avoid as good as possible. Somehow Tea seemed to be more excited about it than her.

But eventually the big flat screen TV above the bar counter caught her attention when the breaking news were on it. With that she didn't pay anymore attention to the others and what they talked about. Her amber-olive eyes read the headline on the screen in shock.

'Already 10 people in Egypt missing without a trace.'

The TV was set on mute so it didn't disturbed the fancy house-lounge music that echoed through the whole bar, so she wasn't able to hear what the news reporter was saying. All of the sudden she jumped up from her chair and rushed over to the counter. "Excuse me, could you please turn the volume of the TV up for a second?" Jesara asked the barkeeper kindly and pointed up to the flat screen above his head. Marik and the others observed her curiously from where they were sitting.

"…people missing all over egypt within the last 24 hours. The Egyptian police still has no idea if it's a case of kidnapping or worse. We will keep you updated." The correspondent stated from the TV.

_'__I bet that this isn't just a coincidence…'_ Jesara thought to herself bitterly when her Hans formed into fists in the bar counter.

"Could that have anything to do with… you know?" Tea asked curiously.

"Possibly…" Marik muttered with severity drawn to his tanned face, his jawline tense while his lavender gaze still rested on the TV. "And if there's a connection to the missing items I'm afraid that it's not good."

"But why should the thief kidnap random people?" Yugi asked in dismay.

"Maybe that freak wants to start his own mind slave army or something like that?" Joey threw in, not thinking before speaking as always. Marik's mouth formed a wry line at his words. Just a few weeks ago he did just the same and hurt people with the power of the rod and he still felt more than sorry for it. Besides that he still didn't realise that Yugi and the others forgave him his actions. Deep inside of him he still felt guilty.

"Marik, what could that be all about?" Jesara asked dryly, concernment present in her eyes as she came back to the table.

„I wish I could answer your question." He said and locked eyes with her. If - whoever stole the items - had the plan to carry on with the organisation like it was when Marik declared the end of it it wouldn't make sense to kidnap random people. The Rare Hunters had almost one hundred members. It has been already big enough. It just didn't make sense to the sandy blonde.

„Maybe Ishizu has an idea? I'm sure that she and Odion already know about the breaking news." Tea cut in and nibbled on the straw of her almost empty Pina Colada. „Why don't we call her?"

„I guess you're right." Marik then took his phone from his pocket and dialed a number, which he had on the short-cuts. The gang didn't say a word as he held the phone next to his ear, waiting for his sister to answer the call. Thirty seconds went by and it felt just like an eternity. „I'm afraid she isn't available right now. But she will call me back as soon as she can. I hope everything is fine with Odion and her." He muttered and put the phone back into his pocket.

„Jess?" Joey asked with an arched blonde brow as he noticed her pale face. „Are you alright? You're looking sick."

Her fingers covered her mouth slightly as she exhaled deeply. She really didn't look good, either did she feel good. „Excuse me for a second." Jesara murmured and turned on heel to head for the woman toilet.

She has never been so thankful for wearing her hair in a messy up-do as she bent over the toilet to vomit. Thankfully she reached it just in time. She coughed as the acid liquid came up her throat. Luckily she hadn't eaten a lot today.

„Oh Ra…" She sighed to herself as she flushed the loo and opened the door of the cabin to freshen up after that escapade. But she froze within a second as her amber-olive eyes looked at the big mirror and washing tables. Somebody has written something onto the mirror while she had to vomit - obviously. But she was sure there hasn't been anybody in there with her.

„You are running out of time. Remember." Jesara read out loud in a whisper. It hasn't been there when she entered the women's toilet - definitely. Whoever wrote those lines, what did he or she mean by that? Maybe it was that stranger in the white cloak? Was this another hallucination? Or just a freaking bad joke?

She stared at the letters for a few more moments before she washed her hands quickly. A shiver ran down her spine - this whole thing was just too spooky. Origin. Remember. The words ghosted through her mind merciless. Jesara stared down to her hands as she covered them in soap and water. Everything was just too weird at the moment. Could this stranger have something to do with the stealing of the items? Maybe.

As her eyes met her reflection in the mirror again she cringed. The letters were gone - like they've never been there. _'Am I loosing my mind now?'_ She asked herself mentally and took a few steps back.

"Jess?" A familiar voice cut in the silence and within a second she snapped back to reality. It was Tea who came to look after her. "Do you need any help? How do you feel now?"

"Better. After throwing up I'm feeling way better now. I guess it was the shock from these breaking news…" Jesara sighed and decided against telling her friend about these spooky message on the mirror. It's been enough scary shit for one day.

"Are you sure?" Tea asked again with an worried expression drawn to her flawless face.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. But I guess it's time for me to hit the sack." Jesara reassured her brunette friend before returning to the others.

**xx**

With a sigh Jesara placed her handbag on the kitchen counter. Everything could be just fine - emphasis on 'could be'. But the missing items, the kidnappings of various people in Egypt, that stranger and the weird message on the women's toilet… All those things tied up her mind.

Ever since she could remember she knew nothing about where she comes from or who her real parents were. The first thing she remembered was when she met Marik and looked into those piercing lavender irises. But whatever her life was before was just black - there was nothing. Could this stranger in the white cloak want her to remember this literally non-existent part of her life?

But how?

"Are you doing better now?" Marik asked calmly and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind her.

"Mhm." Jesara was too focused on her thoughts to say anything else.

"What are you thinking about? Tell me." He urged whispering and placed a soft kiss on her temple. "I know it when something is bothering you."

Maybe it was the right time to tell him about her weird sightings of the cloaked stranger. Her heart started to race, but she didn't know why. Again her stomach turned upside down.

"Marik." She muttered under her breath and turned around to meet his gaze. "What do you know about my origin? I mean my 'real' origin?" Jesara never thought that she would ask him that question one day, because it never mattered for her. But now it did.

His pale lavender eyes shot open in surprise at her question. "Why do you ask?"

"Well. Please don't call me insane. But somebody is _stalking_ me…somehow. Since a few days I see a person. He or she wears a light coloured cloak - it somehow looks like a traditional Egyptian attire. And the stranger always whispers to me…" She explained with a bitter expression on her face and hugged him back.

Marik arched a curious brow as he looked down at her. "And what does he or she whisper to you?" Jesara could feel how unease flooded his featured. Within a second his arms around her waist tensed.

"To remember my origin. I know, it sounds weird…" Jesara whispered and locked eyes with him.

For a second they stood in silence before Marik let out a weary sigh. Something was wrong.

"Jesara." He said under his breath. "I'm afraid there are a few things you don't know…"

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger here. :D Hope you liked that new chapter. And if you liked it - Review!**


	7. A Beautiful Lie

**AN: Oh my gosh. An update! I can't believe it! I expected to be finished with it in about… a month? But instead I finished it in only two days. Yay.**

**First of all. Things are getting serious now. For all who love my OC pairing in this story: I'm sorry for that! :P You'll see. And I hope that this whole plot isn't too confusing. Let me know what you think. Leave a review or feel free to PM me.**

**Also a big thanks to the ones who have followed and favourited the story! :-)**

**Enjoy chapter 6!**

* * *

**CHAPTER VI  
****A Beautiful Lie**

"W-What do you mean by that…?" Jesara glanced up at him, her voice only a bit louder than a whisper. His words made her goosebumps rise on her slightly tanned skin and yet she didn't know what's about to come.

Marik swallowed hard. Silence.

She narrowed her eyes slightly at him. Her hand rested on his toned chest and she could sense his heart beating wildly inside his ribcage. So did hers. Marik wrestled his fingers nervously.

"Marik." She urged in a stern tone towards him. "What do you mean by that?" This time she put more emphasis to her question, her eyes stared intensively into his pale lavender ones. His strange change in behaviour definitely aroused her curiosity once more.

"Jesara." He exhaled and bit his lip. "I don't know where to start."

"Spit it out." Her tone grew serious - her words sharp. "What do you know? What do you hide from me?"

Marik mentioned for her to sit down on the couch. She followed his offer and sat down a few inches beside him. Her eyes never broke contact with him. Jesara was nervous. She didn't know what to expect and her hands slowly formed into fists.

"Look." He spoke up. "I guess that stranger you saw lately is a member of another ancient clan like ours." Jesara arched a brow when she realised that Marik tried to take one slow step towards the truth after the other.

"Another clan?" She asked, mentioning for him to continue. "Go on."

Marik inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly. His lavender eyes stared into hers beside him. "Your clan."

Jesara's amber-olive eyes shot wide open in surprise. "My clan?" A shiver shot through her features. "B-but I thought the Ishtar clan was the clan where I belong to."

"That's true, I never said that you wouldn't." He said and placed his tanned hand on hers. "I mean the clan you lived in before you came to us."

"What in Ra's sake are you talking about, Marik?" She blinked at him in confusion.

"It's the Amun clan, Jesara. They live in a similar _home_ like our tomb - far away from modern society, undiscovered since thousands of years. You were born as the only daughter besides an older brother." Marik explained and held her hand in a tight grip.

His words left her speechless, all she did was staring at him in disbelief.

"My father arranged it that you come to the Ishtar clan to…" He cleared his throat before he continued. "…marry me and continue our holy bloodline when you were about 7 years old."

"B-but I don't remember anything." Jesara stuttered, thinking hard but she really remembered nothing. Her memories were all black.

"Yes…" Marik sighed and focused his lavender eyes on the fluffy carpet beneath his feet. "I know…"

"You…know? Is there anything else you are hiding from me?" She asked and narrowed her eyes at him. From his reaction she knew that he hadn't told her the whole truth yet.

"You don't remember anything because of me. When you came to the tomb you were crying for days and nights. You didn't even want to talk to me back then. And so I asked my father to…" Now his piano thin fingers formed fists in his lap as he stopped speaking.

"You asked him what?" Jesara cut in, urging him to continue whatever he wanted to tell her. Slowly her hands formed into fists, anxiousness rose inside her while she waited for him to carry on.

"I begged him to erase your memories by using the millennium rod." Marik confessed under his breath and glanced at her from the corner of his lavender eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that I never told you."

Silence filled the gap between them. Jesara definitely had to let this information sink in for a second.

But suddenly she jumped to her feet, fury flooded her features and brain. "YOU DID WHAT!?"

"Jesara. Let me explain." Marik said in a calming tone, trying to soothe her nerves. "I did that for you. You've been so depressed and panicked with that new situation. I just wanted to make things easier for you."

"Are you kidding me, Marik!?" Jesara hissed at him with dangerously narrowed eyes. "That means that everything - our whole story and especially MY life is a lie that you and your father created by brainwashing me! Everything you told me was a lie!"

"No, it isn't. Jesara, please, you are overacting now. Calm down, please." He drew a few steps closer to her to put his arms around her for a comforting hug, but she just shoved him away.

"I'm not overacting! Why didn't you tell me earlier!? I've asked you about this topic and you had more than one chance to tell me the fucking truth, Marik! You lied to me for years! Even after Battle City you didn't clear things up!" She spat and clenched her teeth.

"Why are you shouting like this now!? It's not like I did that to hurt you! I wanted you to be happy, Jesara!" By now also Marik was shouting at her, narrowing his lavender eyes at his girlfriend and raising his hands up in the air for emphasis.

"Bullshit, Marik! Maybe I would have escaped from you much earlier! Who knows? How could you tell me that your father didn't play other sick mind games with my brain!? What if he also changed my personality to fit your high and mighty needs!? I know it would be possible with that freaking magic stick!" With that she made a cautious step towards him and pointed her finger at him angrily.

"No, that's not true, Jesara! Guard your tongue now! Shut up!" His words came out of his mouth before he had the time to think about their impact on her. Her amber-olive eyes widened in shock at his words.

"The truth is formed between the lies, Marik… You didn't change just a little bit." Jesara said in a dangerously calm tone and turned on heel. She grabbed for her handbag and cell phone in a hurry and glanced back at him over her shoulder. "I want you to be gone when I come back. I don't want to see you around here then. Pack your things and get lost." Her sharp words cut his soul like thousands knifes and left him speechless. With that she banged the apartment door behind herself and was gone.

**xx**

Her lungs filled with the chilly air of the night when she stepped onto the night streets of Domino City. Did she just broke up with him? Again? Guess so. Right now she didn't want to be near him in any way. Tears ran down her cheeks when she wandered through the lonely streets. Again it felt like her heart shattered into millions of pieces. And by now she felt like she didn't know who she really was. In fact all she was, who she was and her whole life was a lie built on the power of the ancient millennium rod and the decisions of the person she loved the most. Or used to love the most.

She didn't remember when she felt like that ever before. Hurt, anger, betrayal - all those feelings flooded her mind and caused her heart to hurt inside of her chest. She searched through her handbag to find her EarPods - maybe music could ease the hurt that tortured her right now while she was on the way to the only person she thought she could talk to. Tea.

_'__Life can turn you upside down, chew you up and spit you out.'_ She sung along with the song Remember Every Scar from Escape The Fate mentally. And hell, it was exactly how she felt right now. Her eyes were glued to the pavement on which she was walking while she thought about how it would feel like… coming home and being alone again. His harsh words cut deep. He really didn't change. Nothing had changed. It just felt like back then as she was a part of his stupid organisation.

It still was so surreal for her. Deep inside she wished that it was another, frightening nightmare. But it wasn't. Marik just confessed to her that he and his father deleted seven years of her life just like someone would do it with data on PC. Like it was nothing. What if he never did that? What if she still had those memories of the time before she came to know Marik? Would she also love him? Would things have gone the same way like they did? Did it even matter? All those questions ghosted in her head.

She felt awful.

**xx**

And then there was only silence in that cozy oasis they have called their home - until now.

His lavender irises stared at the apartment door that had closed with a furious bang behind her, leaving him to his misery. She was gone. Old memories came back to his mind. Memories of when his servants told him about her disappearing two years ago. Memories of when she left him after he hurt her in the worst way possible, wrecked her self-confidence and embarrassed her in front of his whole organisation. And again he managed it to hurt her in the worst emotional way possible. Now he had to pay the price for a mistake he made such a long time ago.

Marik slummed back on the couch as compunction overwhelmed him, burying his face in his tanned hands. "Fuck. You are such a fool." His low voice whispered with guilt.

In that moment he'd loved to punch himself for what he had done. Did he really expect another, more relaxed reaction to his confession? Reality hit him hard. And although he just wanted her to be more comfortable and make things easier for her he regretted it deeply. She was right. Maybe their story would have gone otherwise when his father didn't erase her memories when she was a child. Would they also love each other like they did? Possibly. Possibly not.

"She just started to trust me again." He muttered to himself as a few tears gathered beside his lavender irises. His lungs took in a deep breath of air to calm his nerves. What if his father manipulated her besides erasing her memories? That little detail of their story was now an almost unsolvable variable.

Slowly he lifted himself from the couch as her words slashed through his mind. _'Pack your things and get lost.'_ He then started to do just that, gathering all his belongings and stuffing them into his suitcase and some bags he found in the kitchen. He know it wouldn't do anything to make things better if he would run after her, begging her to hear him out or to forgive him. Battle City was one thing, this was another, far worse dilemma.

It tortured him, but maybe it was the best thing to give her some space to calm down right now. Bitterly he choked back a tear when her apartment door clicked shut behind him.

**xx**

It was about 2 am when Jesara came to a halt in front of Tea's place. For a moment she stood just there and looked up the big apartment tower while the song We Don't Have To Dance by Andy Black played in her ears. As the song ended she removed the EarPods and stuffed them back into her bag and entered the building.

_Knock knock_

'_Hopefully she's still up. If not I guess I have to sleep in the park tonight.'_ Jesara sighed mentally and bit her lip as there was no response from Tea.

_Knock knock_

"Tea? It's me, Jess. Are you awake?" She asked. Then she was sure she heard something or someone move behind the closed door. Just then Tea, dressed in her sleeping gown, opened the door and stared at Jesara with a puzzled look.

"Jess? What the hell are you doing here? It's in the middle of the night. Did anything happen?" Her brunette friend asked in a sleepy tone, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles.

"Yeah…" Jesara sighed in dismay. "Marik and I we… we had a fight and I really needed to get out while he…" She paused to find the right words. "While he packs his things."

With those words spoken Tea's eyes widened in shock and disbelief. Jesara could tell that she was wide awake by now. "What!? Oh my god! Come in!"

Jesara let herself sink into the cozy baby blue armchair in Tea's living room while her friend made some hot chocolate for them. She knew it wouldn't be easy to tell Tea everything from the beginning and she didn't want to recap it either. All she wanted now was to cry herself into sleep, wake up the next day and realising that everything was just another horrible nightmare.

"Here you are." Tea said in a calm tone as she handed Jesara a baby pink mug with delicious smelling hot chocolate. She then sat herself down on her couch, giving Jesara a sympathetic glance. "Now tell me. What happened?"

"That's a long story… I don't know where to start…" She said and bit her bottom lip. Her slight fingers were wrapped tightly around the mug.

"Don't worry. The night is still young and I will listen. Take your time." Tea reassured her with a soft smile and took a sip of her steaming chocolate.

Jesara inhaled deeply. "Well. There's a stranger and it's like he or she is stalking me. And that person always whispers to me to 'come home' or that I should remember where I come from. When I rushed to the toilet earlier in the bar someone left a message for me in the bathroom mirror. It said that I'm running out of time and that freaky stuff."

"Oh gosh. That sounds like a horror movie!" Tea cried out - she hated horror movies. "But why did you and Marik have a fight?

"Well…" Jesara exhaled. "I don't remember just a tiny detail of my life before I met Marik when I was a kid. I mean I never even missed that part of my life because for me it just never existed. For me it was just normal. When we got home from the bar I told him about that weird stranger and his messages. And then he told me that this stranger was from my former clan - maybe. A clan called 'Amun-clan'. Marik then…" She stopped when his confession echoed in her mind again.

"Jess…" Tea said in a low, comforting tone.

"Marik told me that when I came to his clan I had the worst homesickness and cried for days. And because he wanted me to feel better with that whole new situation he asked his father to brainwash me with that stupid millennium rod. They just erased my memories, everything I knew and everyone I knew before. And now I'm here… feeling like my whole life and everything is just a big lie." She sobbed, but tried her best to keep her tears at bay. "I mean he just told me that like it was peanuts!"

"I'm so sorry, Jess. I can't even imagine how you're feeling right now." Tea murmured and grabbed her friends hand to spend her some comfort.

"I'm feeling awful, Tea. I'm feeling betrayed and I have no idea how to handle this pretty new information." Jesara said with an almost breaking voice and rubbed her temple. "Whoever those Amun-clan people are… they want me to remember what Marik and his father have taken from me. And I don't know why. Maybe it's connected to the disappearing of the rod and the ring. Oh Ra… Everything is just so confusing."

"Don't worry, Jess. I'm sure we can find out soon." Her friend reassured her.

"I hope you are right, Tea. I don't want to live in a beautiful lie anymore."

* * *

**AN: I'm so sorry for breaking them up again :P But how would you have reacted to that little confession? But it's necessary for what I have in store for ya.**

**And now: Review! :-)**


	8. The Prophecy

**AN: Update time! Hell, this chapter took me an eternity to write, really. Hope you all are alright with their sudden break up in the last chapter :D I'm still sorry.**

**This chapter was hard for me to write because it contains a teeny weeny lemon. With that you have been warned ;-) I hope you enjoy it anyway, although it might not be outstanding good xD Let me know what you think and don't burn me! Haha.**

**Enough for now :-) enjoy chapter 7.**

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**CHAPTER VII  
****The Prophecy**

There was no way she could manage herself to sleep for at least ten minutes. Jesara stared up to the ceiling for an eternity, laying on the couch of Tea's living room - surrounded by nothing than darkness and silence. Her thoughts repeated Marik's confession again and again. They've been so happy after their reunion when Battle City ended. For the first time in her life she felt alive again. Again everything has broken apart within a second. And again she felt like he had just ripped her heart out of her chest. Anger and frustration didn't let her sleep. _'I've probably been nothing more than a puppet for him. Like a pet. Would be nothing new to the master of manipulations.'_ She thought to herself.

Jesara cuddled herself into the cozy bedsheets Tea provided her with. But nothing could ease her mental pain right now.

_'__How much more do I have to take?'_

Jesara closed her eyes and thought back to everything they've been through together - especially the nights they've spent lately. She had felt so safe in his embrace. She couldn't get it off her mind how she delightfully squirmed under his touches every time they did _it_. If she could just turn back time… or wake up from another bad nightmare, realising it was just a dream and everything was just fine.

**_x flashback x_**

_It was another exhausting day of learning and preparing for the final exams coming to an end. The setting sun sent the last sun rays through the windows, painting the white walls in a romantic orange shade. Marik knew perfectly how to interrupt her and force her to stop learning. With a simple kiss on her neck while she was leaning over her workbook he caught all the attention he wanted from her._

_Her breaths were loud and deep, not regular at all but her lungs filled with air in perfect harmony every time his piano thin fingers brushed gently over her skin. While their lips and tongues played gently against each other she felt like loosing every track of time. He pressed his whole body against hers while Jesara felt the coldness of the wall sending a cooling shiver down her spine. Marik fingertips stroked softly down her shoulder, and her arms until they finally arrived at her wrists._

_Within a split second his hands had them in a tight grip and pinned them to the wall. Although Battle City changed him and took away all his anger from his soul he still craved for control. And having her submissive to his will was the kind of control that fuelled his desire. Jesara felt the delightful goosebumps rising as his lips traced down her neck and shoulders. Her lungs released every breath with a pleasureful silent moan._

_Somehow he knew how to touch her in a rough, but also pleasant way that drove her senses crazy. With an easy movement he lifted her up; her feet lost contact to the floor underneath her. And just a brief moment later she found herself laying on her bed with him right on top of her with his hips well positioned between her legs._

_If somebody had told her she would be spending her nights with him again Jesara would have not believed it. And now there she was, falling for him and giving in to him with every inch of her body. First it was her tank top that found its way to the floor beneath the bed before she undressed him hastily from his muscle shirt. She pursed her lips as she looked up to his well toned chest. Without much effort he took off her bra, giving freedom to her breasts._

_The tip of his nose stroked along her neck while he whispered into her ear. "You are beautiful." His breath on her skin was just so irresistible. Jesara's body tensed up in sensation as his lips found their way down to her chest, placing kisses on her breast while his fingertips stroked gently over the other one. Her long fingernails dug into his back as a moan left her mouth._

_With well calculated movements Marik unbuttoned and ripped off her jeans when the sensation between them overwhelmed their senses in every way. After that he also undressed himself from his pants and boxer shorts before he did the same with her already wet panties. Jesara took in one deep breath after another, biting her bottom lip in desire as she glimpsed down to his solid manhood._

_The thought of what was about to come sent a literal firework to her senses. With her hand she pulled him down to her again so that their noses were almost touching. Icy lavender irises locked with the thirsty stare of amber-olive pools. Never did she expect to find herself in his sensual embrace - not after all that crap they've been through. Little did she know. But she loved every second of it._

_An ecstatic moan left her throat as she felt him slipping into her, filling every inch of her. Jesara's hand stroked roughly through his sandy blonde hair in excitement as their lips met each other again. For a moment they shared another sensual and wild kiss. But she couldn't help herself and broke the kiss again to let out another moan as he started to move inside of her. Sensation and lust now took control over her and her long nails left slight scratches on his back as his movements became stronger and faster. _

**_xx_**

She choked back a tear and pushed the thought aside. Enough was enough. This time there won't be a second chance for him. Nothing that had ever happened between them, their relationship, their love, their story was probably real. Everything just felt like a lie to her - unreal.

Eventually she dozed off into a restless slumber until the first sun rays started to paint the sky with a beautiful shade of red and purple.

**xx**

As her apartment door clicked shut behind Marik he let out a weary sigh and wondered where she's gone. His lavender eyes were literally glued to the floor underneath his shoes while he couldn't force himself to get going. His thoughts were all about her and his mistake and he hated himself for hurting her that much. Besides that he was concerned about what her former clan wanted from her. Why did they make an appearance now? Why not earlier?

All those questions tied up his mind as he stepped into the chilly night air outside the building and loaded his packed suitcase onto his crimson red motorcycle. Everything just seemed to happen in slow motion right now.

The loud, humming motor fell silent as he came to a halt in front of the very same hotel he had checked in before he moved in with Jesara. It was a quite luxurious hotel - how could it be otherwise?

He wondered when Ishizu and Odion would call him back and especially if both of them were safe and sound. As he stepped into the lobby he couldn't believe his piercing lavender eyes. He was met by those familiar blue and olive irises he had missed so dearly.

"Ishizu. Odion." Marik gasped with widened eyes. "You are here. But how? Why?"

"Brother." Ishizu said softly and drew a few steps closer to hug him. "We came here as fast as we could. We need to talk."

"What is going on, Ishizu? How did you know that I'll be here?" Marik asked in confusion.

"That's a long story, Marik. Come with us. We shouldn't loose any time." She said with concernment in every single word. With that Marik knew that something was wrong - terribly wrong.

They entered one of the big and luxurious senior suits of the hotel. Once again Marik had no idea what the hell was going on as he stared into the pharaoh's violet eyes. He was sitting on one of the brown leather lounge chairs with his fingers crossed. Beside him, in another lounge chair, sat an unknown man Marik had never seen before. But his outfit was similar to how Jesara had described that stranger from her former clan to him. He wore a white Egyptian garment and various pierces of jewellery around his neck, his fingers and on his ears. As the stranger stood up and turned to face Marik he removed his cape and revealed his face to the sandy blonde egyptian. His hair had a warm shade of dark brown and reached down to his shoulders. Icy blue-grey eyes stared into Marik's carefully.

"Marik. It's a pleasure to meet you." The stranger said calmly, without showing any emotion.

"Pharaoh. What are you doing here?" Marik questioned and then looked back to the stranger in front if him. "And who are you?"

"My name is Tahir. I'm from the Amun clan. Jesara is my little sister." He answered and still showed no noticeable change in expression. The pharaoh eyed their conversation with caution.

For a moment Marik had no idea how to react to that. "Tahir? Her brother? So you've been the one who stalked her!?" Marik hissed angrily. "What do you want from her?"

"Marik. He's here to help us. There's no need to worry about that. Tahir is our friend." Ishizu tried to calm her brother down and placed her hand softly on his shoulder. "Marik. Where is she?"

Marik glanced back over back at her over his shoulder to meet her gaze. He let out a heavy sigh at her question, his eyes filled with dismay.

"Marik. What happened?" Odion asked insistently.

"That's a long story. I don't know where she is now." The sandy blonde said in a sad tone. He swallowed hard before telling them about the latest events between them. "Jesara was confused about a stranger who told her that she should remember her past. I guess that was you, Tahir. And she asked me about it and if I knew anything. I couldn't lie to her… and I told her that her memories were erased by our father - because of me. We had a fight and she ran off. That's the short version…"

"I'm so sorry, Marik. But we need to find her as soon as possible." Ishizu said.

"Could you please tell me what the hell is going on here? I tried to call you earlier! Random people disappeared in Egypt, then Tahir shows up and scares the crap out of Jesara and don't forget about the missing items! What the hell is going on!?" Marik growled impatiently.

"Calm down, Marik. This is serious." Yami cut in and stared at him intensively. His arms were now crossed over his chest. Marik could tell from his expression that this was more than serious.

"Then tell me. Now." Marik said nervously.

"Marik, the missing items and the various people in Egypt is no coincidence. But it's much worse than your former organisation only craving for power. The millennium ring and the rod have a special connection to the shadow realm. My clan has saved and protected the ancient ritual practises of the Pharaoh's priests. We know what they want to do with the items and kidnapped people." Tahir explained in concernment.

"Go on. What is their plan?" Marik asked while a shiver shot down his features. Whatever it was - it wasn't good at all.

"They are going to free your dark side from the shadow realm, Marik. And thanks to human sacrifices they will be able to practise an old ritual to bring him back in his own body." Tahir said. With that Marik's body froze. Had his ears failed him? He couldn't believe what he just heard. His dark side found a way back to walk the earth?

"That can't be true." Marik said in terror. "But why!? Why would the Rare Hunters wang to bring him back!?"

"I wish it wasn't true." The Egyptian reassured him. "The people who were part of your organisation are mostly weak minds and lonely souls. All of them wanted to belong somewhere to feel alive or to feel important. Since you are out of the organisations your slaves were lost without a leader. And they saw how strong, merciless and assertive your dark side was. For them he was the perfect leader and substitute for you."

"And what has Jesara to do with that? Why the hell did you come for her NOW?" Marik asked stressfully.

"Your dark side has a score to settle with you AND me. Jesara is your weakest point, Marik. And she was the reason why you were able to win against your dark side in our duel. If I was your alter ego and wanted to take revenge it would be my first idea to hurt her." Yami said and stood up from where he sat. "And there's something else that we still don't understand."

Marik arched a curious brow. More bad news?

"If you didn't know it, Marik…" Ishizu spoke up. "The Amun clan was gifted with the ability to foresee things. There is a quite new prophecy that really worries me."

"And that is?" He questioned impatiently.

"We are some kind of prophets. And one of them tells that the great Pharaoh's biggest enemy will be the seed for him to walk the earth again in his own flesh and blood." Tahir stated while his eyebrows narrowed in concernment. „I had that vision at almost the same time when the items were stolen from Yugi.

"Yami's greatest enemy? You need to explain that to me." Marik said and rubbed his temples in bewilderment. He really had to let that awful lot of information sink in.

"There's a chance that this prophecy mentions your dark side." Yami said cooly. "If that's true he might want to forestall its fulfilment."

"But how does that even make sense? Oh Ra… It's getting worse by the second. But we need to find Jesara now." He said determined and clenched his teeth. But deep inside he still felt the sting of the last words she said to him.

„Do you have an idea where she could be?" Odion urged and drew a step closer to his step-brother.

„No. I wish I would. I could easily try to call her, but I'm sure that she won't want to talk to me. Jesara knows how to be not found, Odion." Marik sighed wearily and took his cell phone from his back pocket, then he dialed her number. It rang for what felt like an eternity before her mailbox activated. He tried it again and again - every time without any success.

**xx**

„Thank you, Tea. Thanks to you I didn't need to sleep in the park." Jesara said and bowed slightly before she left her friends apartment the next morning. „I will call you later."

„You can call me whenever you want, Jess. I'll be there if you need any help or a shoulder to cry on." Tea reassured her and shot her a gentle smile. With a kiss left and a kiss right they said goodbye to each other. Jesara took a deep breath as she stepped outside the building.

_‚__I hope that he's already gone. I really don't want to run into him right now…or later…'_ Jesara said to herself mentally and plugged in her EarPods, playing ‚Deadly Weapons by Eyes Set To Kill'. Then she slowly made her way home, wandering through the busy morning streets of Domino. The rising sun filled the streets with a wonderful mixture of red and orange shades of light.

When the song came to an end she cringed in surprise as she heard someone calling her name multiple times. Jesara rolled her eyes in annoyance when she realised which very familiar voice it was and removed her EarPods. Mentally she prepared herself for a discussion in public and let out a sigh.

"Jesara!" The voice shouted out loud from behind her. "Jesara! Wait!" With that she turned around and looked back at Marik who was running in a quick pace to catch up on her. Her amber-olive eyes narrowed slightly as they saw that familiar sandy blonde hair.

"Stop!" Jesara hissed loudly, staring daggers at him. She still wasn't ready for talking to him about that latest incident. "Don't you dare to come any closer."

Marik immediately stopped his run and came to a halt a few meters away from her. By now various people were staring at them. "Jesara. Please, there's something I need to tell you."

A sarcastic chuckle played on her lips for a second at his words. "Oh really? What do you have in stow this time? A few more lies? Thank you, but that one from yesterday has been more than enough. And now please leave me alone. There's nothing to talk about, Marik."

His tanned lips formed into a wry line. Things have been so perfect between them and now they are exactly where they had started when they met again during Battle City. "Please, you have to listen to me. I would give you all the time you need to be alone right now, but this is urgent!" With that he made two steps closer to her.

Immediately she took three steps back. "No. I don't have to listen to anything, Marik. Whatever it is I'm not interested in your stupid apologies." Jesara spat and turned her back towards him to walk away, hoping that he won't try to follow her.

Suddenly the sound of squealing tires startled her. A pitch black van made a hard stop beside her. She had no idea what was going on, but everything just happened too fast for her to react. The slide door opened and two men dressed in dark purple cloaks jumped from the backside of the vehicle. Jesara's eyes widened in terror when she recognised those familiar outfits.

"Jesara! Run!" Marik shouted out and started to run for her. But it was too late. The men grabbed her, each holding her upper arms in a tight grip. She tried with all her strength to squirm out of their hold, but to no avail.

"Let go of me! Stop that! Marik!" She shouted in horror when they dragged her into the back of the van. Marik was just inches away from her before the door slid shut in front of him and the van sped up within a split second. He was too late.

* * *

**AN: Another cliffhanger! Don't hate me now xD**

**I'd be flattered to have your feedback in a review :-) **


	9. Rebirth From Hell

**AN: It's update time! Meanwhile I managed to add two new chapters to my other ongoing story "A Distant Embrace", which is the Prequel to OMR and this story. So, if you haven't taken a look yet you can find the story on my profile. :-)**

**I'm sure that there might me some typing errors - hope you don't mind but I will correct them as soon as I got time.**

**And now enjoy the 8th chapter of Shady Origins.**

**Also thanks to Ilyanaaax for the follow!**

* * *

**CHAPTER VIII  
****Rebirth From Hell**

"I can't believe I was too late. How could I let that happen?" Marik blamed himself as he buried his face in his tanned palms. They all sat together in shock in the hotel room that somehow became the think tank for that whole incidence. Also Tea, Joey and Tristan came as soon as possible after they told them the bad news. "I was just an inch away from her."

"Don't blame yourself, my brother." Ishizu tried to comfort him, but she knew there was nothing she could say to make those guilt feelings of his go away.

"Arrrgh!" Joey growled angrily and pushed forward. With his blood boiling he grabbed Marik roughly b the collar of his shirt, literally staring him to death. "Stop crying like a freaking baby! These jerks kidnapped Jesara for a reason we don't know and all you do now is crying your coward ass off!" The blonde hissed in fury. Marik looked at him in puzzlement.

"J-Joey, I-" He stuttered.

"Joey, let go of him!" Tea and Tristan commanded in unison and departed the two. Joey let out another growl, but then tried to keep his emotions at bay. After all what happened in and after Battle City he still had a crush on Jesara. It was just natural that he tried to find someone who he could blame for her kidnapping - Marik was just the easiest victim for his anger.

"Tahir, what could we do now?" Odion asked casually. After all the bulky Egyptian was able to keep his emotions at bay and tried to think about solving the problem rationally. "Where did they bring her? And why did they come for her?"

Jesara's brother sat in one of those lounge chairs right beside Yami. His blueish grey eyes travelled other the concerned faces of Marik, Ishizu, Odion and the rest of the gang. His dark bangs hung into his face, half covering his mysterious eyes which were adorned by pitch black eyeliner. "Where ever they brought her to, when we find your dark side - Marik - we will also find my sister. I'm afraid that they brought her back to Egypt. My sister was one of the reasons why Marik and our great pharaoh were able to defeat him. Besides taking revenge for his loss Jesara is the perfect bait to lure both of them to where he wants to have you, since she means a lot to both of you."

"But…" Ishizu cut it. "Odion and I have been there and looked everywhere to find them, such as the millennium rod and ring. But they were nowhere to be found. Tahir, are you sure that they are operating from Egypt?"

"I still can't believe that Jesara has a brother." Joey whispered to Tristan beside him.

"Aren't those Rare Hunters good in not being found?" Tea asked in concernment.

"Tea is right." Yami said sternly. "Marik's former servants are masters of staying invisible. I agree with Tahir."

At this Tahir nodded at him. "Thank you, my pharaoh. Egypt is literally the cradle of life of the ancient millennium items and especially the shadow magic. And our pharaoh's key to his power lays in Egypt as you may know best." He said wisely and locked eyes with Ishizu.

"Isn't Egypt freaking big? It will take us millennials to find her! What if she's already dead before we can find her!?" Joey cut in panicking without thinking his words would wreck Marik's nerves just a little more. Tea gave him an angry backhead-slap at his careless words.

"Joey." Tahir spoke up wisely. "He won't kill her. From what my visions showed me it's far more satisfying for him to threaten and torture his victim's psyche. My sister is strong and stood up to him once. She'll know how to protect herself. And I'm pretty sure that Marik's dark side wants to be found when the time is right."

Marik's eyebrows shot up in curiosity, giving Jesara's brother a questioning glance. His statement didn't ease his nerves either, it just fuelled his concernment more. Everyone waited silently for Tahir to explain his suggestion to them.

"He wants to take revenge and steal our great pharaoh's power - that's nothing new. And he could only achieve his goals when he beats Yami in a duel, win the god cards and the millennium puzzle. But therefore he _needs_ to be found by him." Tahir explained without any change in his stern expression. "And if the ancient gods don't bless me with a vision of the future and her whereabouts, he will tell us where he wants to have us sooner or later."

"Okay, that makes total sense to me." Joey murmured and shrugged. "Hopefully he won't send over Jesara's finger in a box - you know, like they do it in the movies." His words came out without thinking - typical. With those words spoken Marik's face became pale as a piece of paper.

"JOEY!" Tristan urged in a loud scream and pressed both palms in the blonde's mouth. Tea double-face-palmed beside them.

"My pharaoh…" Marik sighed and choked back a tear. "I'm sorry for putting your destiny at stake again. I'm sorry that I disappointed you again. I thought my dark side died on that day on the top of the duel tower."

Yami locked eyes with the desperate sandy blonde. "It's not your fault, Marik. I've beaten your dark side once and with your help I'm sure that we will beat him again. Hopefully for the last time."

Everyone nodded in agreement. "Sure thing."

"I just hope he won't hurt her…" Marik sighed.

Ishizu drew closer to him and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "She's brave and smart. She will know how to stay save until we come to get her." Then she tied her younger brother into a tight hug.

"I hope so, Ishizu."

**xx**

There was nothing than silence and the light of a calmly flickering lonely candle, which she started to perceive more intense though her closed eyes the more her unconsciousness faded away. Slowly Jesara awoke from a dreamless blackout, her fingers began to clench into fists, holding the bedsheets in a tight grip. Dizziness and nausea replaced the darkness without mercy, so she tried to hang on for dear life on her bedsheets. That feeling was familiar. Jesara felt similar, only worse, to when Marik commanded his Rare Hunters to kidnap and chloroform her and her friends. Her daze gave her the feeling of falling into nowhere although she was lying on a cozy surface - maybe a bed? A couch?

A silent moan left her throat as she forced her eyes to open up. Slowly, millimetre by millimetre, carefully adjusting her amber-olive eyes to the dim light of the candle beside her. It was like an abstract painting forming into sharp lines as her blurry vision started to get sharper, revealing a ceiling made from dark brick stones. They looked old and used.

Jesara knew those bricks and what she saw from where she lay felt so familiar to her. Her eyes shot wide open, but she didn't move. _'That can't be…'_ Her gaze travelled from the ceiling down to her other surroundings. The room was barely furnished. Just a little desk made from the same stone and an old wooden chair decorated one corner of the room. The calmly flickering candle beside her stood on a wooden, also old and familiar looking nightstand made from wood. The silence, the smell, the temperature and humidity awoke old memories she had tried to forget to dearly. _'I am…in the tomb?'_

Was it a dream? It felt far too real for a dream. Her palm met her forehead and temple softly, trying to ease the pulsing pain in her head - but to no avail. _'I can't be in the tomb…' _She sighed. Whatever it was that caused this unbearable dizziness it was far worse than the last time. But the question was why she was here and who brought her here. Everything had happened so fast and she was barely able to remember pieces of the moment she was dragged into the back of that van before everything went black.

Slowly she propped herself up on her elbows, inspecting her surroundings once again. But Jesara was certain - it was the tomb. It was her former room.

Suddenly the door of the room swung open with a loud bang and a tall man entered with calm, but dangerous sounding steps. Jesara cringed from the loud noise and stared at the unknown man, whose face was hidden by the cape of his deep purple cloak.

"It was about time that you wake up." He said in evil amusement and came to a halt right in front of the bed. Jesara arched a brow, questioning if her ears had failed her. His voice was so familiar, but she didn't know to whom she belonged.

"W-who are y-you?" She stuttered and pressed herself against the cold brick wall, hoping to put a little more distance between her and her possible kidnapper.

The stranger let out a sadistic sounding chuckle. "Don't you remember me?" He questioned and removed the cape from his face. Again her eyes shot wide open in puzzlement. His skin was tanned, his dark short hair started to become grey in time parts. The left half of his face was burned long time ago and it had left deep, disgusting looking scars. His left eye was blind and his iris and pupil was grey, which looked terrifying in comparison with his other healthy, piercing green eye. Yes - how could she ever forget him.

"Carter…" Jesara whispered. "B-but why?"

"Exactly." He answered as a smirk formed on his thin, half burned lips. Jesara's gaze travelled down to his hand and she gasped in horror as she noticed the golden millennium rod.

"You?" She pressed out. "You stole the items?"

Carter nodded at her question. "Looks like it. And now everything is ready for the reincarnation of our true master and leader."

She cocked a brow in confusion. "Reincarnation? Carter, what in Ra's sake is going on? What do you mean by that and why did you bring me here? Is this the tomb of the pharaoh, the home of the Ishtar clan!?"

"It is. Your questions will be answered soon enough, I promise." He said with a sly grin plastered on his face. Then he snipped his fingers elegantly and within a second two other men in deep purple cloaks rushed into the room. "It's time."

They packed her roughly by her arms and dragged her out of the bed. Jesara tried her best to squirm out of their grip but landed on her knees. "Let go of me! Stop!" She spat, knowing that her commands won't have a lot of impact. Struggling against them with all her might they dragged her out of the room and along the corridors that Marik had hated so much as a kid. Carter walked just a few metres ahead of them, leading the way.

The corridors were empty, except of lots of blood stains on the ground and walls. Jesara was shocked and scared to the bone - what happened here? Although the members of the Ishtar family had left the tomb it didn't mean that it was abandoned. The servants of the clan had taken care of it since Marik left - but where were they now? A tear can down her cheek as she realised that Carter probably killed them all. The tomb looked like a massacre took place.

"What have you done!?" Jesara cried out behind Carter and glared daggers at him as he glanced back at her over his shoulder.

"I cleaned up." He said dryly and didn't stop in his pace.

His words hit her like a sledgehammer. "You killed them all!?" Jesara asked half panicking and started to sob. "YOU ARE A MONSTER!"

At this Carter stopped and turned around to look at her with an amused grin. He lifted her chin with his thumb and index finger, glaring into her eyes with a smug smirk plastered onto his half burned lips. "I'm just conducting our new master's affair until his return. It's a pity that your clan's foolish servants weren't smart enough to give up and join us when they had the chance."

"Marik won't come back to be your master and carry on with all that Rare Hunter bullshit!" She spat through clenched teeth.

But this made his grin only grow wider. "That might be true, but you forget that he left someone much more powerful for us to bring the organisation to endless power. Marik was too weak anyways."

Panic flooded her mind and features, which were still held in a tight grip by Carter's footmen.

Jesara's vision became blurry from the tears that gathered in her amber-olive eyes when Carter's words sunk in. "You will witness our comeback and the rebirth of our new master from first row. And you can resist and die the same miserable death as your silly servants or you can do like I say." Carter said und let go of her, again turning his back towards her.

_'__What does he mean…? Could they possibly…? No way!'_ She thought and swallowed hard. If Carter was about to do what she thought he was it could be the beginning of the apocalypse. Her body froze and goosebumps tickled her whole body like thousands needles.

But because of all the blood and Carter's threats Jesara didn't recognise where they have carried her to. When Marik and she used to live underground in this tomb and its endless, dark corridors of no hope she didn't come here often. It was the entrance to the holy chamber of the great pharaoh's tomb - the holy grail of the whole complex. Her watery eyes stared at the enormous entrance doors made from massive stone, decorated with hieroglyphs and ancient scriptures. This place was meant for the pharaoh, Yami, to fulfil his destiny and regain all the memories he erased from his mind to save the world thousands of years ago.

The huge ancient portal opened slowly and Jesara began to tremble. Whatever was about to come she feared it. Never was the thought of dying so real.

Carter's footmen sent her flying down to the floor and she landed on her knees and palms. She ket out a little cry at the rough landing. As she looked up she saw the three ancient stone tablets which Ishizu had shown in the Domino museum. They were back where they belonged. A round stone, which looked like a sarcophag, was situated right in front of them. It was the ancient stone which was the origin of the millennium items.

On both sides Rare Hunters stood in rank and file, waiting for commands from their vice master Carter. 10 people, men and women, rested in their knees in front of them and didn't move at all. Their eyes were blank and they didn't even blink. All of them were controlled by the power of the millennium rod. _'They need to be the missing people from the news…'_ Jesara thought as her eyes travelled over them.

"Carter, what is this all about!?" She hissed and looked up at him with a look that could kill.

"You will see soon enough and you have the privilege to watch his rebirth from the shadows from first row." At this words from Carter she cringed and stared at him with her mouth agape. _'His rebirth from the shadow realm?' _Jesara didn't need any more information to know who he was referring to. Now it was absolutely clear - but how?

"You can't bring him back!" She cried out. "He doesn't even have a body anymore. The pharaoh made sure to disconnect Marik and his dark side until the end of all days!"

Carter bowed down behind her, still wearing that evil grin. His chuckling made her cringe, such as his breath on her neck that disgusted her.

"Although you are the wife of a tomb keeper, who knows almost everything about ancient Egypt I'm surprised how less you know about the power and opportunities of shadow magic." He said under his breath.

With that her heart skipped a beat and panic overwhelmed her senses.

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**AN: Hopefully this chapter wasn't too bad and you liked it. Next chapter will be better, because of the reappearance of someone special :P**

**I'd love to have your thoughts in a review.**

**Thanks for reading! Until next time :P**


	10. Paradox

**AN: WOHO! Update!**

**Little content warning: This chapter WILL get a little bloody :P you have been warned!**

**Enjoy and make sure to leave a review!**

**Xoxo**

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**CHAPTER IX  
****Paradox**

"B-but how is that even possible…?" Jesara whispered under her breath, staring up into Carter's burned face in panic. Her palms, scratched from the hard landing, rested on the ice-cold stone floor. She trembled and her heart was racing. Then she glanced behind Carter and her gaze travelled over all the people who were kidnapped in Egypt over the last couple of days. "W-Why did you kidnap them, Carter?"

A smirk grew wider on his visage. "It takes more to bring someone back from the shadow realm. Our so called _former Master_ was nothing more than a little boy who played with some amateur magic ticks. _This time_ we dip into some serious shadow magic." He explained and kneeled down cooly in front of her to look her straight in the eye. Jesara remembered how Carter got his face burned like that and how sorry she felt for him when he was crying in pain from the injuries. But all of these feelings were replaced by disgust and her eyes narrowed dangerous at him.

"You want to sacrifice them!?" Jesara spat and clenched her teeth. "They didn't do anything to you! You can't just kill them."

He lifted her chin playfully with his index finger and shot her an evil grin. "We can. And we will. The shadows want ten souls to set one soul free. And the ritual we will go through requires the sacrifice of flesh and blood of ten bodies to recreate his from the darkness. With that our _old and new_ leader will come back to life to guide us to victory."

She slapped his hand away from her face with one sudden movement. "That's insane! How could you even think he would like to be the nanny for a pack of idiots like you!? Why do you need him? Are you too dumb to do it on your own!?" Jesara was close to losing it, but couldn't stop herself from insulting the man who could kill her just by snapping his fingers.

But Carter only chuckled unimpressed by her words. "You know, little Jess, Marik caused these injuries and scars of mine with his recklessness. I guess you remember that quite well. We all saw how weak and pitiful he really is when we watched the finals of Battle City and how strong and merciless his dark side was. And since Marik just abandoned us without even batting an eye we decided to continue the organisation - but with a much more powerful leader. I'm just running the business until his return from the shadow realm - I don't want to be a leader, Jess. All I want is revenge on Marik for what he has done to me and to all of us."

Carter's words made sense - at least parts if them. They sent a shiver down her spine as they sank in. "His dark side is ten times worse than Marik. You're making a big mistake, Carter. Please, don't do that."

"Too late." He said short and crisp. Then the millennium rod in his hand and the ring around his neck started glistering. Within seconds every candle which flame illuminated the room with its light went out and dark clouds and fog started to fill the ancient chamber. Jesara's body tensed and goosebumps rose on every inch of her skin as an ice-cold breeze stroked her body. She bit her lips as panic flooded her amber-olive eyes, realising it was to no avail making Carter stop.

Carter stood up and turned his back towards her, then stepped slowly into the middle of the room, holding up the glowing millennium rod. "And now Rare Hunters!" He spoke up like an ancient magician. "Give the shadows what they're craving for to bring back our almighty Master! With ten souls we pay for your spirit to return and with flesh and blood we pay for your rebirth in your own body, free for you to walk the earth as the kind you are meant to be!"

With those words spoken the Rare Hunters took our daggers from underneath their deep purple robes and with one sudden movement they all cut the throats of the teen hostages, who kneeled before them. Jesara cried out in shock as blood flooded the floor in front of them. Within seconds a literal sea of blood formed in front of her and the victims dropped dead into their own red, sticky liquid of life.

Whimpering her palms met her mouth as she watched the cruel scene in shock. She'd never seen so much blood - not even in horror movies or when Odion treated her wounds after Marik had lost control two years ago.

The dark fog in front of her seemed like it formed into a port to another dimension as a dark silhouette formed in it. It took her a few seconds before she could make out those wide shoulders and spiky hair of the tall male figure. Panic. Horror. A racing heart. It was _him_. Without a doubt.

Elegantly and frightening at the same time he stepped out of the dark clouds, followed by another ice-cold wind gust that felt like thousands needles on Jesara's skin. Those blank and deadly pale lavender eyes haunted her dreams and that moment when he forced himself on her during Battle City still filled her with pure disgust every time she thought back to it. Jesara crawled back a few meters, knowing he would still get her anyway.

He wore the exact same outfit of when she had last seen him; a black muscle shirt and beige pants combined with that deep purple cloak on top of it - wafting elegantly in the wind behind him. His footsteps made a horrifying sound as he walked on the blood covered floor. Yami Marik then came to a halt in front of Carter and glanced down at him sternly.

Carter got down to his knees, bowing for his _Master_ in respect. "Master. We can't tell how happy we are that we were able to free you from the shadow realm." He said with a shaking voice as he looked back up at him. "This is for you - since those items were always meant to be yours." Carter held up the rod and ring for Yami Marik to take.

A smirk appeared on Yami Marik's lips as he took the items from Carter, eyeing especially the millennium rod in his hand. "See, see. It was about time that you bring me back from the shadow realm, Carter. Good job."

"It's a pleasure to serve you, Master M-Marik." Carter answered casually.

Yami Marik's frightening eyes travelled over the bunch of Rare Hunters around him. "So I'm getting a second chance to claim the pharaoh's power and fulfil the task my weaker half wasn't able to."

"Yes, Master." All the Rare Hunters said in unison and bowed slightly in respect.

"And you, Carter…" He spoke up and mentioned for him to get back to his feet. "What do you wish for as a little reward for bringing me back into this world?" Yami Marik's grin sent shivers down Jesara's spine in shockwaves. And still it seemed like he didn't recognise her yet - so the worst was yet to come.

Carter stood up and straightened himself. "The same as you, Master."

Yami Marik arched a brow curiously at his servant, awaiting his answer.

"Revenge. I want your weaker half to pay for the pain and scars he caused me." Carter answered confidently, staring into his Master's ghosty eyes.

"So be it." He answered with a smirk.

And then his eyes met Jesara's as he glanced at her over Carter's shoulders. Yami Marik shoved Carter to the side to get him out of his way. "What a nice surprise. Long time no see, my dear." He stepped closer to her over the blood covered floor.

_Splish - Splash._

"Get away from me!" Jesara hissed get crawled back a few inches.

Yami Marik chuckled and stopped his slow pace right in front of her. His blank lavender eyes stared down at her in amusement. "Oh come on. Aren't you happy to see me, sweetheart?" The millennium rod started glistering and within a second Jesara wasn't able to move - again. It was just like it was when he touched her in that disgusting way in her room on the blimp during Battle City. Then he mentioned for her to stand up and she obeyed against her will.

Jesara swallowed hard as he closed every distance between them and he smelled her hair and his index and middle finger stroked over her shoulder and arm. "Where did you leave my precious weaker half? Broke up already?" That grin on his lips disgusted her so much. His face was so close to hers she wanted to cry and run away as fast as she could, but his control over her didn't leave her any chance. She could sense the warmth of his breath of her cheeks and mentally Jesara begged it all was just another nightmare - but the hurting bruises and scratches on her palms proved her bitterly wrong.

"Or did you finally come to the conclusion that I'm the better choice after all?" Yami Marik whispered into her ear with a smug grin plastered onto his lips.

"Master Marik." Carter interrupted him and Yami Marik glanced back at his servant over his shoulder, awaiting him to continue while he playfully wrapped some of Jesara's hair strands around his index finger. "We brought her here because I thought she'd be the perfect bait to get the revenge on the pharaoh and your weaker half you and me are seeking for. I thought it would please you to have her here for you."

Jesara choked back a whimper when Carter's words sank in. They wanted to use her as a decoy bird to hurt the pharaoh and Marik. _'If I would have just listened to him… Oh Ra, why have I been so stubborn?'_ Jesara thought to herself, biting her tongue. With that all the anger she felt about Marik and his lies about her past had faded away. All she wanted now was to bury her face on his chest and to feel save in his embrace.

Yami Marik shot Carter an amused grin. "Hahaha. What a wonderful idea of yours, Carter. Always one step ahead." Then he looked back to Jesara and licked his lips. "And until little Marik's and the pharaoh's arrival we will have a a lot of fun together, sweetheart. I can't wait to see what my pitiful weaker half is willing to sacrifice to save his precious girl."

"Fuck you." Jesara spat and narrowed her amber-olive eyes dangerously at him.

"More charming than ever before." He chuckled and stroked over her cheeks with his thumb. "Wonderful."

"There's something else we need to inform you about, Master. Jesara could be useful in another way." Carter interrupted again.

"Enlighten me, Carter." Yami Marik growled in annoyance because of his servant's repeated interruption. Jesara furrowed her brow, frightened about what other cruel plans he would probably have in stow for her, Marik and the pharaoh. What else could they want from her than use her to hurt her beloved ones.

Carter stepped closer to Yami Marik and Jesara. "When we broke into Yugi Mutou's house to steal the millennium rod and the ring we used the opportunity and installed a wiretap in his duel disk. Thanks to that we know that someone called Tahir pretends to be her brother and to be a member of the Amun clan."

Jesara's eyes widened in surprise and shock at the same time. A brother? Amun clan? What was Carter talking about? _'C-could this Tahir be the that stranger who stalked me during the last couple of days? Did he knew about Carter's plan and tried to warn me?'_ She questioned herself mentally. Besides that she bitterly realised how less she actually knew about herself.

"Her clan tried to find her? Interesting. I didn't even know that those boneheads still exist. Go on." Yami Marik commanded.

"He said something about a new prophecy or something like that. Those Amun guys are somehow able to foresee things - whatever. He told the pharaoh that _his greatest enemy will be the seed for him to walk this planet in his own flesh and blood again_ or something like that. I don't know what he meant by that, but they sounded concerned about it. Since she's his sister she probably knows more about that."

Jesara blinked in confusion. She was a part of an ancient clan of prophets? Could it get any weirder? And what does that prophecy mean? Oh what would she give to remember all that Marik's father erased from her memories…

"My sappy weaker half and my father decided to erase all of the memories of her former life at her clan. She won't be useful. Did that fool Tahir explain that so called prophecy?" Yami Marik asked with an arched brow.

Carter shook his head. "Not yet, my Master. But obviously they think that it mentions you as his greatest enemy. Of course you are." Carter bowed a little in respect.

Jesara's eyes travelled nervously from Yami Marik to Carter and back again and again. "However. I will make sure that this prophecy won't ever fulfil. This time he won't be able to defeat me and after his Ra-damn soul burns in the deepest corners of the shadow realm I will be the pharaoh who walks this world in my own flesh and blood." His long fingers formed into fists when his words came out as a growl. His gaze then wandered back to Jesara, who shit him a wide-eyed look. "And thanks to you, my little Jesara, I will get everything I want. It's gonna be so much fun."

Jesara gathered all of her courage. "Y-Yami defeated you once! And he will kick your demonic ass once again." If looks could kill he would drop dead within a second. Unfortunately it didn't work.

Yami Marik chuckled at her words, amusement written all over his evil face. "Take her to my quarters and make sure she holds her tongue." He commanded and gestured for Carter for more emphasis. With that words spoken Jesara hoped with all her might that she'd be strong enough to survive in here until Marik and her friends would come and get her - hopefully.

**xx**

Marik awoke with a deep breath from his light sleep that almost filled every inch of his lungs. He must have fallen asleep in the lounge chair of the hotel room. It was late at night and only a decorative lamp on the sideboard illuminated the room with its dim, warm light. His palm met his chest as a stinging pain flooded his body. "Argh!" He cried out as he cringed down in the chair.

"Brother." Ishizu said in concernment and stepped closer to the sandy blonde. "Are you alright?" Softly she placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Her piercing blue eyes stared down at him.

Marik said nothing, but tried to fight the pain in his chest with short, deep breaths. Also Odion rushed to his side and kneeled down in front of him. "Marik, what is wrong?"

"It has begun." Tahir said dryly. The Egyptian stood by one of the panorama windows of the suite and watched the ongoing on the streets. He didn't look back at the others and his tanned arms were elegantly crossed in front if his chest. Yami watched the scene from the second lounge chair in the middle of the suite and arched a curious brow at the heavy panting Marik in front if him.

"Tahir, what do you mean?" Yami asked in his usual icy tone. Ishizu and Odion looked at the blueish grey eyed man, who turned around to face them. "What has begun?"

"Marik's evil side finally awoke from the shadows. They performed the ancient ritual and brought him back to life." Tahir answered wisely. "That's why he is reacting like that."

Eventually Marik calmed down and caught his breath again when the pain started to go away. He swept away the beads of sweat on his forehead underneath his blonde bangs. He gestured to his sister and brother that he was okay, giving them a slight but forced smile. Then his tortured lavender irises met Tahir's, awaiting further explanation.

"Both of you - you and your dark side - will always be connected, because you were always meant to be one. You won't ever be really disconnected. Now that he has his own body and there are actually two of you we need to deal with a little side effect." He explained cooly like it was obvious.

Marik slowly lifted up from the lounge chair, his palm still placed on his chest. It still hurt a little, but nothing he couldn't deal with. "Could you be a little more precise? What side effect?" He asked quite exhausted. Yami, Ishizu and Odion stared at him fearfully.

Tahir let out a sigh. "Since there were never meant to be two of you our…let's call it _dimension_ is in imbalance. You became a paradox in your own reality, because there should only be one of you. That's why you reacted like that. Our dimension collides with the dimension of the shadow realm, because they opened a gate between them by bringing him back."

"That doesn't sound good at all…" Yami said as his gaze grew darker.

Marik stared at Jesara's brother in disbelief and was lost for words. Did that mean that the world like they knew it would soon be one with the shadow realm, because his former servants performed an ancient ritual without thinking about the consequences? But for now he didn't care about what could happen to the world.

All that mattered to him for now was her and if she was okay - wherever they brought her to.

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the massacre here :P But I think it would be necessary if you want to bring someone like Yami Marik back to the real world.**

**Maybe you noticed it! In one of the last chapters I wrote that he ALREADY IS back - yeah, that was bullshit. So I'll update it now at change it to future tense to make it fit ASAP. Sorry for the mistake here.**

**Hope you enjoyed it! If you did I'd be flattered to read your review!**

**Until next time!**


	11. Stowaway

**AN: Happy Monday and happy update time! :D I'm back with a new chapter. Thanks for the latest reviews to Hinata's Muse, Twisted virtues and SimonCatGirl. I'm happy you liked the story so far!**

**Well, Yami Marik returned from hell and shit is getting serious. This chapter may not be the most exciting thing I've ever written, but hope you enjoy it too. :D There will be a little new outcome in it.**

**Happy reading to all of you and thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave a review.**

**Much love!**

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**CHAPTER X  
****Stowaway**

All eyes were on Tahir, who stood beside the big window of the hotel suite. So it has begun. Marik's dark side did find a way back from the shadow realm. How could they even be so dumb to think that this was over yet? Yami's violet eyes narrowed, filled with anger and also concernment. This time won't be as easy as it was in the final round of Battle City. Could he have done anything else to make sure that Marik's alter ego was really dead? Was it his fault that his rebirth from hell was even possible?

"Tahir." Ishizu cut the silence with her soft voice. "Colliding dimensions…?" She didn't say anything else. Her pure oceanic eyes were angst-ridden.

Jesara's brother nodded - his gaze stern as a solid rock. "Your ears didn't fail you."

"I try my best to explain it to you as simple as possible." Tahir said as his eyes travelled from Ishizu to Yami and then to Marik. "There are several dimensions existing. Christians call them earth, heaven and hell. Rationalists call it multidimensional theory or space-time etcetera. However. Our reality that we live and breathe in is one dimension of many others. The shadow realm is another one, which could only be entered by the use of serious shadow magic. Dimensions aren't meant to collide or to be connected, but that's exactly what happened when your former organisation practised an ancient ritual. Your dark side is literally the personification of the shadow realm, Marik. When our dimensions collide they will fight each other until one wins over the other."

Marik rubbed his temples nervously and let out a sigh. "And what happens to the loosing dimension…?"

Ishizu, Odion and Yami stared at Tahir, awaiting an answer and hoping it wouldn't be all about death and the apocalypse. He remained silent for a while and his pale blue eyes met the floor, searching for the right words.

"If our dimension _loses_ it becomes a part of the shadow realm, changing the world as we know it for eternity. The stronger your dark side gets the more the dimensional collision will proceed." He explained. His words were answered by utter dismay and silence.

Yami cleared his throat and stood up, then crossed his arms and glared at the Egyptian. "Tell me what I need to do to stop that from happening, Tahir."

"My dark side will challenge you for a rematch to claim your power, my pharaoh. And again the worlds fate lays in your hands." Marik interjected and rested his head in his palms. Thankfully the pain in his torso had faded away, there was just a weird dull feeling left in his chest.

Tahir nodded in approval. "Unfortunately…yes."

"Yugi and I beat him once. We can do it again." Yami stated with self-confidence burning in his lilac irises.

"I'm sure you will, my pharaoh… when time is right." Tahir answered respectfully.

Marik shot up from where he sat as Tahir's words sunk in. "Ra damn it! We should stop wasting time and get going now! Board a plane and look for that asshole who kidnapped Jesara! What in Ra's sake are we waiting for!?" He was close to losing it. For Marik it didn't make any sense to wait any longer for some kind of a sign or invitation of his alter ego.

"Marik." Tahir urged. "You should better trust the one with the ability of foreseeing. Believe me, it won't do us any favour if we hurry now. I want to find my little sister too and of course I'm concerned about her wellbeing too. But we can't waste all of our power to go looking for them all over Egypt while we should use that time to prepare. Especially the pharaoh should be well prepared for what he's going to have to face. Jesara is doing good, Marik. I know that. Trust me."

He just answered with a growl and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Marik felt helpless like a little child. Not being able doing anything wrecked his nerves. After all he was still a control freak and couldn't stand the feeling of not having any of it. There's been a time when he could get almost anything by snipping his fingers. But now he was just helpless. "When anything happens to Jesara because we wasted too much time, take my word for it that I will make you pay for it, Tahir."

"Marik. Stop it now." Ishizu hissed from beside and shot her brother an angry glare.

Odion drew closer to his former Master and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We need to trust him. He knew that this will happen. If he says that she will be fine, then she will. All we can do now is to wait… unfortunately."

**xx**

Jesara had no idea how long she have been sitting in silence - alone and tied to the bedpost with a rope. She had lost every track of time while she sat there on the cold stone floor beside Marik's former bed in his former room. No sunlight, no electricity or heating system that kept her warm in this place underground. On the nightstand stood a candle, which flickering warm light enhanced the room and she observed it intensively to kill the time.

How could things turn so much for the worse? Everything has just been so fine. And within one second everything fell apart and went out of control - again. She chocked back a tear and while her amber-olive eyes stared at the light of the candle she imagined Marik's face. If she could just turn back time she would work things out with him than just screaming at him and running away because of that stupid lie. So many years have passed since then. She wished she had reacted otherwise. Maybe she would lay in his arms right now, save in his arm's embrace than here, fearing for her life.

Her thoughts went crazy while she sat there in her loneliness. Besides having witnessed how Marik's dark side escaped from the depths of the shadow realm she found out that she had a brother. She must've forgotten him when her memories got erased. Jesara wondered about how he was, how he looked like and what he could tell her about her 'real' family. And what was that weird prophecy all about? How could Marik's alter ego have something to do with a reincarnation or something like that of the great pharaoh? So many questions ran through her head, but there were no answers… yet.

It was cold and besides that she started getting hungry and thirsty. Although she was hoping that someone would come to bring her just a tiny bit of food and water she feared the moment when the door of that room will open.

She swallowed heard when she heard footsteps approaching and bit her bottom lip when they stopped in front of the door. Her back was faced towards the door, she only managed to look back at it from the corner of her eye. She felt her heart starting to race when suddenly the door clicked open, someone entered with calculated steps and then the door shut again. Jesara didn't dare to look back to see who payed her a visit.

"Little Jesara must be starving, aren't you?" A familiar, deep voice questioned from behind her and within a second she knew who it was. This threatening dark voice will always give her goosebumps. Yami Marik sat down on the bed beside her and looked down at the light grey haired girl with a grin.

For a little second she glanced up at him. He balanced a plate with two sandwiches on it elegantly on three of his fingers and held it closer to her in an offering way.

"Thanks, but I guess I can't accept it since I'm tied up here like a dog." Jesara hissed and looked in the opposite direction, trying to keep her head still held high without showing how much fear ran through her veins right now. Little did he know that she actually was starving.

She cringed when she felt his hand behind her back, untying the rope from her wrists. The feeling was in every way relieving and she rubbed her slightly bruised wrists. She muttered a low "Thank you" under her breath. Mentally she asked herself why she still cared about good manners. He held the plate directly in front of her nose and after a moment of hesitation she took it from him.

"So, what kind of poison did you put in there?" Jesara asked cocky and inspected the sandwiches.

He chuckled evilly. "Taste it and find out."

"Almost forgot how absolutely hilarious your sense of humour is." Jesara said dryly and took a bite from one of the sandwiches. If he wanted to kill her he wouldn't do it by using a poisoned sandwich. Still she didn't dare to look at him while she chewed on her first bite.

"What do you want?" She asked after she swallowed.

"Besides revenge and becoming the most powerful man on earth I just wanted to make sure you're not starving to death. You gonna be quite important for my plan, my little live bait." He answered grinning and rested his elbows on his knees while he watched her.

_'__Show no fear… whatever you do, show no fear. That's what he wants.'_ Jesara thought to herself. "Oh, how kind of you." She said sarcastically and put the now empty plate on the nightstand. "So that means that I'm stuck with you until Marik and the pharaoh come to kick your nasty ass a second time?"

"Exactly." Yami Marik said with a smirk plastered on his lips and stood up from the bed, then bent down to his knees in front of her. Now she wasn't able to avoid his eye contact anymore. "But this time the pharaoh won't be so lucky. And until then the both of us will be having a nice time."

Her eyes locked with his and she shot him an annoyed glare. "No thanks." Jesara snarled and crossed her arms in front of her chest. He got far too close to her now.

With his forefinger and his thumb he lifted her chin a little, Jesara tried not to show any fear in her gaze. "I guess there's no choice for you, sweetheart. There's just nothing you can do."

Since Jesara finished her snack her stomach turned in all possible directions and she felt that weird feeling building up inside her. Her mouth became watery and somehow it felt like all the colour in her face has faded away. She didn't comment his statement and he narrowed his eyes curiously at her. Something was wrong.

"Oh Ra, I'm going to…." With those words spoken she vomited literally her heart out, directly on Yami Marik's lack muscle shirt. She wiped away the rest of her vomit with the back of her palm and stared at him and the mess on his shirt in shock. "Oh…"

"What in Ra's sake!" He shouted out and stood up in a hurry. "I should send you to the shadow realm for this right now!" With one fluid, hurrying movement he took off the cloak and shirt and throw it into one corner of the room.

Jesara said nothing, she felt another round coming and grabbed the paper bin that stood under the stone desk and relieved herself with her head almost stuck in it. She held it so tight like her life depended on it until there was nothing left to throw up. "Oh Ra… Are you serious that you didn't want to poison me…?" Her breath was heavy as she fought for air.

"Right now I regret I didn't." Yami Marik hissed and glanced down at her in disgust, his bare chest facing her. Jesara's face blushed in embarrassment, but at the same time she wasn't sorry at all for throwing up on him - he deserved it.

Fortunately Yami Marik allowed her to freshen up in the antiquated so-called _bathroom_ of the tomb. The shower just offered cold water what didn't make it any better. She knew that she had to keep strong until somebody comes to save her and the world from that demon, but somehow she felt like she was close to a mental breakdown. After drying herself with a towel she slipped back into her cloths. Her amber-olive eyes travelled over the ancient furnishing while she brushed her teeth, wondering if they would provide her with other typical feminine hygiene products like… _'Wait…'_

Within a second her tanned skin literally lost every colour and went pale when she stared at her reflection in the half broken mirror, the toothbrush almost fell out of her hands. _'How long has it been since I…' _In a hurry she spat out the rest of the toothpaste foam and washed her mouth, then sat down at the edge of the bathtub, shock written to her pale face. Immediately she began to count the weeks - once, then twice and then a third time to be sure. But she always came to the same conclusion. She had her last period just a week before Battle City started, what meant that she wasn't just a little overdue… she was probably already a couple of week overdue. Her hands started to tremble. How was it possible that the missed that little detail for weeks?

_'__Oh Ra… That explains everything… the sickness and why I threw up almost right into Marik's dark side's face. I must have forgotten that in that whole mess… Fuck…'_ Jesara thought to herself and placed her hand on her lower belly, rubbing it carefully. She was unable to believe it. Could she really be… pregnant? Then she covered her face with her palms and started to cry into them.

But then it hit her. Didn't Carter say something about a prophecy? _'The pharaoh's greatest enemy will be the seed for him to walk the earth in his own flesh and blood again…' _She recollected his words and fell into another shock. Could that have something to do with each other…?

_'__Oh Ra…'_

**xx**

Yami Marik laid there with a still bare chest on the bed, staring at the ceiling wearing his signature smirk as Jesara stepped in cautiously again. His hands were folded behind his head elegantly. His blank lavender eyes greeted her in that ever so scaring way. She said nothing and and avoided eye contact with him, hoping he won't notice that she just looked like she'd seen a ghost…or maybe a whole army of ghosts. Obviously it was nighttime or late in the evening, because all the other Rare Hunters seemed to have gone to sleep. Whatever time it was - Jesara felt awfully tired after that whole _everything._

"So… And where am I supposed to sleep?" She asked with an annoyed undertone and folded her arms in front of her chest, trying to act as natural as possible. Come what may, but he was the last person on earth who should know about _it_. If she really was pregnant and if that weird prophecy is somehow connected to that child she was in much more serious trouble than she thought. He would kill her within a second if he knew.

The smirk on his lips grew wider. "All other rooms are already occupied, why don't you just share a bed with your true husband?" He asked in evil amusement and propped himself up with his elbows.

Jesara rolled her eyes. "Ew… just no. I'd rather sleep on the cold, hard floor than sharing a bed with _you_. It's already shitty enough that I'm stuck with you on the same planet." She then ripped the little, ancient wooden closet open where Marik used to store bedsheets and his clothing back then. Luckily she found a pillow, then she made herself comfortable in the a corner of the room that was farthest away from Yami Marik.

She turned her back towards him and curled up in a metal position so that he couldn't see that tears built up in her eyes again.

He chuckled as he watched her. "You're still as stubborn as a little child, my dear."

The word _child_ didn't make it easier for her to hold back her tears. Anxiety invaded every inch of her body as she took herself in a tight embrace. She swallowed hard before answering. "Shut up. You should better hope that I don't stab or strangle you to death while you are asleep." Jesara hissed, trying not so sound whiny.

"All I hope is that you're not throwing up your dinner on me again." He teased her back.

She didn't turn back at him. "Shut up… If you don't mind I'm trying to get at least a bit of sleep." With those words spoken she closed her eyes and cried herself to sleep in silence.

* * *

**AN: Yup! Did you expect that? :P Maybe.**

**How I said, this wasn't my very best chapter. So, don't flame me now :P Next chapter will be more exciting, promise! Still thinking about a little more Yami Marik and Jesara action before the showdown happens :D**

**Have a wonderful week & now: Review :3**


	12. Under Your Spell

**AN:** Happy first October! Omg, I'm back with an update after a literal eternity. Sorry for letting you wait, but you know…there's a thing called life and work.

I also need to give you a **CONTENT WARNING** for this chapter, because it has a lemon in it. Actually…it IS a lemon. xD So if you don't feel comfortable with reading things like that… you know. But don't worry, it's not a heavy one. ;-)

With this said: Have fun and enjoy this dirty chapter. Hrhr.

Much love & Dom't forget to review. Thx.

* * *

**CHAPTER XI  
****Under Your Spell**

The egyptian sun sent its burning hot rays down to the desert dunes of Gizeh. Jesara could feel the heat in her shoulders while she stepped on the sandy ground. A warm breeze blowed a few of her light grey hair strands into her face. With a slight, satisfied smile written to her lips she watched how her sandals filled with sand with every slow step she made.

In this moment she only felt peace. There was no pain, no stress or unease that tortured her mind. No time. Nothing to worry about. Nothing to fear.

"Jesara!" A voice called for her from a little distance away. Although there was nothing but sand that surrounded her, the voice was followed be an echo. She lifted her head to see who called her name. Relief flooded her body as she saw a man with long, sandy blonde hair and striking lavender eyes that played in a breathtaking contrast to his dark skin tone.

He smiled at her and mentioned for her to hurry up. Behind him the pyramids of Gizeh soared high into the egyptian sky.

But then Jesara stopped her pace and her amber-olive eyes widened as she recognised a little boy who adhered to Marik's leg in a soft grip. He looked like he was about three years old, maybe four. She held her breath when she looked down to him. The boy had longer black hair and his irises had the same piercing shade of lavender like Marik. The resemblance of their face shapes was intriguing, such as the warmth of their smiles.

Could it be that this boy was…?

Her heart started to race and she started to run to them. But before she was able to reach them their silhouettes faded away like smoke, blown away by the wind. She let out a scream when she realised they were gone. Tears formed in her eyes and she fell down to her knees in the hot sand.

"Marik!" She shouted, hoping that he would maybe answer her. "Where are you!? Come back!" But there was no response…

She didn't even know his name.

**xx**

The flickering light of the candle cut through the slits of Jesara's opening eyes. Her back and hips hurt from the rock-hard stone floor she had slept on for only Ra knew how long. One hour? Maybe three? She had no idea if it was day- or nighttime. However. The little amount of sleep she got didn't bless her with recovery from the last few days. She was still exhausted.

She turned herself so that she laid on her back and she stared up to the ceiling, watching the golden flickering light painting a beautiful contrast to the familiar bricks above her. Why did those dreams haunt her? Carter mentioned that she and also her brother, who she never came to know or just forgot about, were members of an ancient clan - blessed with the ability of foreseeing. Was this the reason for her nightmares? When everything Carter said was true maybe all those bad dreams were just the precursors of the future… Was this one another one? Who was the boy beside Marik? Was it possible that she had just seen their future son in her dreams? A vision of what may come?

Jesara let out a sigh and then turned her head to the left. Yami Marik was still there, laying on the bed with his eyes closed and hands folded on his bare chest. Her eyes narrowed to slits when she looked at him. Did he sleep? Do demons sleep anyways? Obviously. Jesara stared at him for a little longer before her gaze drifted over to the nightstand beside him. The millennium rod laid peacefully beside the candle and she was surprised that he gave it out of his hands while he slept.

Suddenly an idea came to her mind. This may be the only opportunity she needed to escape from here and end this - but it was risky. A shiver creeped up her spine. If this move goes wrong it could mean the end for her. Jesara took in a deep breath and stood up from the floor cautiously, avoiding to make any sound that could wake him up.

She held her breath as she stepped closer to the bed and nightstand on her tiptoes. The golden millennium rod laid there like it was waiting just for her. After a little moment of hesitating her slight fingers grabbed for the rod and from the corner of her amber-olive eyes she observed Yami Marik, whose eyes were still closed. _'Now it's official that the devil DOES sleep…'_ Jesara thought to herself. Every movement she made was in slow motion.

Carefully she revealed the dagger of the millennium rod with trembling hands. The feeling that overwhelmed her body was a mixture of fear, anger and anxiety. She swallowed and after gathering all her courage she slightly bent over the sleeping dark side of Marik, that looked so vulnerable right now. There was no hate or mischief drawn to his face, no creepy smirk, no amused grin that always made her wanting to run for her life.

But right now he just looked like him. Like Marik - just with a quite different hairstyle.

The dagger was now just less than an inch away from his throat. Her hand was shivering as the blade finally touched the skin of his throat.

Shall she do it? Cut his throat just like Carter and the others did to the people they kidnapped? Will it end then?

Jesara bit her lip and her lungs soaked in the air in heavy breaths as she stared down to him. She could kill him now with just a little movement of her hand. It was so easy. But she hesitated.

Suddenly his right hand packed her by the wrist and his pale lavender eyes shot half open. His lips formed into a slight amused smile as he looked up at her. "What a brave little attempt of yours." He said in a low voice, his grip around her wrist tightened a little more. The flickering light of the candle painted contrasts to his face and bare chest just in the right places.

Jesara's eyes narrowed. "Don't make any move. I'm just an inch away from-"

"You won't do it." He cut her off and chuckled.

She frowned in surprise. "How can you be so sure?" With every word she spoke her voice became more and more silent while the blade of the dagger pressed harder against his throat.

"I am him. And you don't want to hurt him, right?" Yami Marik answered and slowly loosened his grasp on her wrist.

Her eyes widened. Was is possible that she could hurt the real Marik too by killing his alter ego? She was too confused to say anything in return. Slowly she felt the tension in her arm fading away and swallowed a second time as their eyes locked with intensity.

Jesara gasped when his hands packed her upper arms and within a second he turned the tables before she could even realise what happened. Yami Marik pressed her down into the mattress and without any effort he positioned himself above her. But the dagger of the millennium rod never left its place on his throat. Their faces were now closer to each other than before - much closer. Jesara looked up at him with shocked eyes.

Silence filled the little distance between them. Her breath got heavier while her hand, which still pressed the millennium rod against the tanned skin of his neck, trembled like aspen leaves. Jesara knew she didn't want to risk it and couldn't force herself to put it down. An amused grin snaked across his lips as his face came closer down to hers.

She did nothing. She felt frozen in the moment. His intentions were obvious, but what could she do to make him stop without risking her own life and the one that possibly grew inside of her…beneath her heart. For a split second the face of the little boy appeared in front of her mind's eye.

His golden blonde bangs stroked over her cheeks as their noses touched for a second. Her body tensed when she felt his hand resting on the side of her waist, slowly wandering upwards underneath her shirt. It gave her goosebumps all over and as his lips met hers she let him pass. Jesara's eyes closed as their lips cautiously danced against each other. It felt so much like _him_, but she knew he wasn't the one she was craving for more than everyone else right now.

With an elegant movement Yami Marik took the millennium rod out of her hand without any effort before he broke the kiss for a tiny moment. "What a surprising change of circumstances…" He chuckled under his breath before he kissed her again.

Jesara didn't know what to do. Playing along with it like a kidnapped girl suffering from the stockholm syndrome to save her ass or fighting against him and risking something worse by doing so? Her palms met his bare chest and she tried to shove him away from her a little while he deepened their kiss by force.

"Give in to it, my dear." He whispered with a smirk when their lips parted for another brief moment. Suddenly the millennium rod in his hands started to glow and within a second Jesara felt how all her good ethics were thrown overboard. "We've had this before. I can control your body…" He whispered into her ear like his voice was made from cashmere, but dangerous like razorblades at the same time. "…your will, your mind in every way that pleases me. But I'm surprised how less you fight against it this time, little Jesara."

Jesara stopped pressing against his chest to get some distance between them, instead her hands wandered up to his neck and spiky blonde hair. Her thumb stroked along his masculine jawline while she stared up into his blank lavender gaze above her. What was she doing there - a question that ghosted through her mind while she didn't find the strength to fight against the control he held over her. She was under his spell - wether it was the millennium rod or his _charisma _that used to disgust her so much_. _

Softly she pulled him closer to her and ruffled through his hair. "Stop it." Her words left her lips in a silent whisper.

"It's not me who's doing this." He grinned and followed the lead of her hands that pulled him down until their mouths met in an untamed embrace. His hips pressed against hers while he undressed her from her top rashly. Jesara didn't withstand as he got rid of her bra too and traced along the sides of her left breast with the tip of his index finger until it reached the sensitive spot. Softly she bit his bottom lip while she reacted to his touch with a moan.

Her long fingernails scratched down his bare chest, leaving slight red lines on his skin. Jesara didn't know when she last kissed someone in such a rough and untamed way like she did right now, but every of their movements played together like a bittersweet symphony. He grinned into the kiss when he felt Jesara's hands trying to unbuckling his belt hurriedly. While he let her open the button and zip of his beige pants he placed a kiss behind her ear, another one on her neck and shoulder. Every breath she made was heavier than the one before.

The sensation that flooded every inch of her body, such as his control over her made resistance impossible. She was caught in a moment she would normally only share with Marik, but the devil found a way. And she gave in to him.

With some effortless movements he ripped off her skinny jeans and tossed it away, leaving her only dressed in a black pantie made from black lace. It didn't take long before also that last remaining piece of fabric had left her slightly tanned body, such as his pants.

Jesara could hear her heart pounding wildly in her chest, pressing heated blood through her veins like her senses were on fire. She winced in excitement when she felt the tip of his tongue between her breasts, wandering down to her navel and further south - tickling her senses without mercy. A sharp groan escaped her throat and her grip on the bed sheets tightened as his mouth met her most intimate spot. Every of her body's muscles tensed with every move he made and one pleasureful shiver after another kept her wits in a bittersweet torture.

When they were back on eye level again they shared an intense glance into each others eyes. He grinned down to her, the heated skin of their chests touched as he laid on top of her. Along with another sharp moan her fingernails dug into the soft skin of his back when he entered her with a sudden move of his hips.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as he buried his head in her neck, grinning into her ear and playing with it with the pointed tip of his nose. Their breaths were equally, deep and heavy. Her lungs filled with air every time he retrieved from her and exhaled in ecstasy when he pushed into her heavily again…and again.

Nearly effortlessly he sat up and lifted her onto his lap. His one hand stroked her breast and she kissed him while he did so playfully. "Move." He commanded under his breath and played with her bottom lip with his thumb. She obeyed his order without hesitation. First her motions were slow - she still needed to adjust to his size that gave her that pleasureful feeling of pressure inside of her. "Good girl." His smirk sent a shiver down her spine, but this time she didn't fear him. She enjoyed him - like she just discovered a dark side of her she didn't know she had.

Their pace picked up speed and their hips collided again and again in an ecstatic rhythm. Their skin was wet from sweat, such as their hair and the humidity in the little room increased rapidly. Suddenly she sensed a hauling feeling intensifying, starting in her lower abdomen and exploding in an overwhelming sensation that sent a shiver through every inch of her body. His grip on her waist tightened with every move she made as his climax came closer and closer with every second. After letting out a high pitched groan she collapsed down against his chest in exhaustion, panting heavily for air and still trembling from the intense climax.

Silence followed and remained for a few minutes.

Jesara looked up to the ceiling and the flickering light of the candle when she laid beside him on the tiny bed - skin on skin - sharing the same bed sheet to cover their sweat covered bodies.

"You disgust me…" She then said dryly. Her palms formed into fists, holding the bed sheets in a tight grip.

He chuckled in amusement and turned to the side to face her. Elegantly he propped himself up with his elbow, resting his head in his palm. "A few minutes ago it didn't look or feel like I _disgusted_ you, sweetheart."

Jesara narrowed her eyes dangerously at him beside her. "I should have cut your Ra damned throat before you had the chance to put that fucking spell on me and use me for your dirty games." She hissed and literally jumped out of the bed. "I can't believe that I just gave in to your little shadow magic tricks." Hastily she put her underwear and skinny jeans back on while her scarred back faced him.

"I told you that we'll have a lot of fun with each other back then. And I always keep my promises, my dear." Yami Marik grinned and watched her closing her bra. She looked back at him over her shoulder and gave him a death stare. "Besides that, my sweet Jesara, my weaker half isn't the only one who could create a stronger and darker half of himself from all the suffering and hate. What if you also have a second half you didn't know about?"

"Shut up and stop trying to deceive me. You used your cheap tricks on me to satisfy your dirty desires… that's all." Jesara spat back and put on her tank top.

"At least I'm certain that it was the best sex you've ever had." He laughed evilly and sat up on the bed.

She bit her lip in disgust. "I wouldn't ever let you know that even if it was true." Jesara murmured, her back was still facing him. Right now she wished she had the guts to just kill him when she had the chance.

Yami Marik lifted himself up from the bed too and put his pants back on. Jesara cringed when she heard his footsteps coming closer to her. His cold breath on her neck gave her goosebumps again.

"Did you forget that your mind is an open book for me, my sweet little Jesara?" He whispered into her ear and playfully traced a line with his fingertip along her arm up to her shoulder.

Jesara's eyes widened in shock. How could she forget about that detail…? Has he been in her mind all the time and she didn't realise it? A million thoughts shot through her mind in a millisecond. He chuckled again.

"How right you are, my dear."

A lonely tear ran down her cheek as reality hit her full tilt.

"When did you want to tell me the good news?"

* * *

**AN: **Phuuuu, that chapter was so hard to write xD and I'm feeling so so so filthy from all the smut I wrote here. It literally took me FOREVER! And I must have lost my sanity, because I wrote the lemon part while watching The Walking Dead. Hell, I'm weird.

Btw: Yes, she was under control of the millennium rod (just in case). I just changed the fact that people aren't realising what happens when they are being controlled. It's much more exciting this way and offers a lot of options. :P

Well, now he knows. I'll try to update as soon as possible ;-) but first I want to post a new chapter for my other story A Distant Embrace.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Reviews are highly appreciated - as always :3

Until next time!


	13. Hell Breaks Loose

**AN: **Chapter 12 is up! Yippie!

Hope you all enjoyed the last one, although it was a bit dirty xD sorry for that! Well, it's time for the showdown! Shit is getting real now. But don't worry. This story is far from the end! :-)

Enjoy!

* * *

**CHAPTER XII  
****Hell Breaks Loose**

The rising morning sun began to paint the sky above Domino into various shades of blue, pink and red and the glass of the skyscrapers reflected the light also into the tiniest corners of the streets. The clouds slowly passed by and so did time for Marik. Sleep has been rare for since Jesara was taken away by his former servants who came up with the idea to bring his dark side back to life.

An uneasy feeling in his chest tortured him during the whole night and it became worse during the last hours. His lavender irises looked down to the streets and watched how the city came to life. Knowing that there was nothing more he could do than wait made him sick. He leant with his shoulder against the window frame, his arms crossed before his chest and his eyes swollen from the lack of sleep.

Ishizu and Odion fell asleep on the couch of the hotel room and Yami rested in one of the lounge chairs. Tahir was the only one who was wide awake besides Marik.

"My sister means a lot to you, doesn't she?" Tahir asked in a gentle tone and glanced at the sandy blonde with his icy blue-grey eyes.

Marik nodded slightly. "Since the day we met."

"At least I know you will take good care of her once this is over." He said and clapped Marik on the shoulder.

Suddenly knocks on the hotel room's door interrupted them and jolted Ishizu, Odion and Yami out of their naps. Marik opened the door and was greeted by Joey, Tristan and Tea. Marik couldn't even force a smile as he let them in.

"Hey Marik, hey Yug'!" Joey greeted. "Anything new?"

"Unfortunately not… But Marik's dark side is finally back in the real world…" Yami answered and rubbed his sleepy eyes to wake himself up.

"And we still don't have a living sign from Jesara." Marik cut in crestfallen. His hand rested on his chest. Something was wrong with him… or her? Could something have happened to her while he did nothing here but wait? Tea and Tristan gave him a sympathetic glance.

"Marik." Ishizu said when she stood up from the couch. "Why don't you get some coffee for all of us from the shop across the street? I'm sure the fresh air will do you good." She suggested and her gaze said it all that it was more a command than a simple offer.

All eyes rested on him. Odion nodded approvingly. Marik let out a sigh, but he knew that his sister was probably right. A bit of fresh air and black coffee would probably help him to ease his nerves. Maybe also that weird feeling in his chest would go away then. "Okay… I'll be right back."

It felt so wrong for Marik to wait in a line in a coffee shop while the most important person in his life was kidnapped by a bunch of freaks and stuck with his evil side. Only Ra knew what he did or will do to her. His mind literally flew on auto pilot when he ordered eight coffees-to-go and payed with his credit card. Despair was always evident in his tanned face. He let out a weary sigh when he pushed open the door of the shop with his shoulder, trying balance the cup trays in both of his hands.

Suddenly a girl almost bumped into him as she ran by in a quick pace, thankfully Marik's reactions were quick enough to evade the crash. Without saying sorry or something else she just ignored him and kept running away. Marik watched her with annoyed narrowed eyes until she was out of sight. But then screams and shouts caught his ear and set his senses immediately on high alert as he turned to see what was going on.

Hundreds of people were literally running for their lives in panic into the same direction as the girl, who almost crashed into him just seconds ago. Their faces were literally pale from fright and agony as they passed by. "Run!", "Help!", "The fog is coming! Run!" They screamed in fear. And then also the alarm siren of the city started to roar in a deafening loudness.

The coffee cups literally fell out if Marik's hands as he saw the dark fog approaching, covering the streets of Domino in darkness. Along with the fog human looking shadow silhouettes formed in the streets and walked around in no particular direction. With that the panic of the citizens became only worse. A police officer who also got himself a coffee from the same shop as Marik threw away his cup and and drew his weapon. He tried to shoot the human shadows in panic, but the bullets didn't bother them at all. They seemed just to disappear into the dark fog.

Marik watched the scenes in horror. Within a second the city turned into a war zone. Those dark clouds and fog were too familiar to him. Could it be possible that there was a gate to the shadow realm just opening in the middle of Domino? Were the dimensions of his world and the shadow realm colliding just like Tahir had predicted them?

Suddenly an unbearable sharp pain literally slashed through Marik's head and forced him down to his knees. He held his head in a tight grip as he moaned in pain. This pain was even worse than when his dark side took control over his body during the battle city finals.

"Marik!" He heard his sister's voice calling for him. From the corners of his eyes he saw Yami, his friends, Tahir and Odion running out of the hotel onto the streets. Ishizu bent down beside her brother and together with Odion they lifted him up. The pain in his head was so strong he could barely stand on his own.

"It's how I saw it in my dreams. Our dimension collides with the shadow realm and lets hell break loose." Tahir said in horror as he watched the city streets fade away in the dark fog.

Tea, Tristan and Joey's faces lost every colour as they looked around. "Geeez! What creepy horror show is this!?" Joey shouted out loud.

"Tahir! What can we do about that? How can we stop it!?" Yami asked loudly and narrowed his violet eyes dangerously. There was a never before seen power threatening the fate of the world, challenging him again.

Also Ishizu cut it. "And what's wrong with my brother!?" She asked in dismay, holding back tears in her piercing blue eyes as she saw what pain Marik had to suffer.

"There's only one thing we can do. Destroying its source… Marik's dark side. He's a paradox himself since his dark side found a way to reincarnate in his own flesh and blood. He's now fighting for his own existence." He explained bitterly.

Marik growled when he felt the pain in his head vanishing slowly. "And what happens when I loose this so called fight?" He asked, fighting for air while Odion propped him up and help him stand.

Tahir was silent for a second. "You disappear…" He then answered wryly.

"Enough now!" Yami cut in with his hands balled into fists. His blood was literally boiling as he saw his home town covered by the shadows. "Where ever the shadows are coming from they will lead me to him. And I will destroy him once and for all. Take my word for it!"

They all have never seen him so furious and determined. Marik's dark side has gone too far and he had to pay for it. Enough was enough. Then he started walking directly into the dark fog and disappeared.

"Yugi!" Tea screamed and without hesitating she, Joey and Tristan followed him into the shadows. "Wait!"

Marik nodded at Tahir weakly. There were no words needed. Then also Ishizu, Odion, Marik followed after Tahir and disappeared into the nowhere.

**xx**

"And… what now?" Jesara asked in annoyance when she stared Marik's alter ego to death, her arms folded in front of her chest. He sat at the stone desk and went through several duel monsters cards.

He let out one of his signature chuckles. "What now? If you'd like another round just let me know, little Jesara." He teased her and glanced back at her over his shoulder.

Jesara growled angrily. "I'd rather be dead." She hissed from the bed on which she was sitting with crossed legs. Since she wasn't allowed to leave his quarters and every attempt of fighting against his will was a literal suicide operation she was stuck with him. She trembled from all the anger that ran through her veins and she still felt guilty and filthy from last night's encounter with him. He already tried it during Battle City, but finally he managed to force himself into her pants so easily. It disgusted her how less she fought against him and lost herself in the moment, even if he manipulated her with the millennium rod to give in to him. It felt like the ultimate betrayal. If there was a possibility to make this happening undone she would pay any price for it. How could she ever explain this to Marik if she will ever see him again?

"Hahaha. We are just getting started, my dear." Yami Marik sung evilly. "But to answer your question… I will get your precious pharaoh here soon and I'm about to create the deck that will send him packing. And since I have you here, pregnant with my foolish weaker half's baby I can easily kill two birds with one stone. And as soon as that's done I can finally reign the world like I was always meant to be."

Jesara swallowed. "Marik doesn't know it…yet."

With that Yami Marik broke out into an evil laughter. "Hahahahaha. Oh Ra, it's just getting better and better. I can't wait to see his dumb face when I tell him the breaking news."

Her amber-olive eyes narrowed to slits. "Why couldn't you just kill me right here and now? Or ban me to the shadow realm? Everything is better than having to live in a world that's reigned by a psychopathic maniac like you." Jesara spat ironically, wishing that all seven curses of Moses would haunt him.

He grinned from ear to ear and turned back to his cards, which he out together in his final deck. "Oh sweetheart, didn't you listen to the crap your precious brother predicted? For me there's no doubt that this baby you're carrying under you heart is the fulfilment of the prophecy - the reincarnation of the pharaoh. Since Marik and I are practically the same person it makes perfect sense that his greatest enemy will be the seed for his rebirth. Trust me, I will kill you right in time before this kid is born. But I still need you as the bait that will get those fools here. Besides that you're a pretty nice toy to please my needs."

She cringed at his words. Could she really carry the reincarnation of the pharaoh under her heart? That sounded so surreal. Her hand touched her lower belly. After all it was Marik's child. "You will loose again." Jesara then said.

"I don't think so." He countered and smirked amusingly. Then he elegantly lifted from where he sat and turned towards her. With a dainty movement of his right hands he mentioned for her to stand up and again she obeyed against will like an invisible force controlled her. Yami Marik was stronger than ever before. She gave him another death stare when she stood in front of him, unable to move. "And I will prove that to you sooner than you wish for. The pharaoh and his little fan club is literally almost on their way here, ready to die."

His sharp words almost made her cry, but she choked back the tears and tried to remain strong in front of him. Jesara couldn't stand the imagination of seeing Marik die in front of her eyes. "I wish I would have cut your damned throat when I had the chance to."

With a smirk snaking across his lips, unimpressed by her harsh words, he stepped closer to her and left no distance between them. Then he playfully lifted her chin with his thumb and index finder. "Yet still you decided to give in to me." With that he pressed his lips onto hers and deepened it immediately by force. He didn't let her any chance to fight against him - thanks to his mind controlling powers. With every tiny millimetre his tongue forced itself deeper into her mouth it disgusted her to her bones.

"And now it's time. Let's go, my sweet Jesara." Yami Marik chuckled and mentioned for her to get going. She obeyed under his control, chocking back her tears.

**xx**

Jesara found herself in the same hall she had to witness the slaughter of ten innocent civilians and his rebirth from the shadow realm - the tomb chamber of the great pharaoh, whose name was still unknown since it was completely erased after his death. All of Marik's former Rare Hunters, who were now loyal subjects to the devil himself, stood in rank and file in rows on the left and right. Carter stood in the first row and wore an amused grin on his face. Yami Marik forced Jesara to walk down the horrific aisle in front of him. His servants all bowed down in respect in front of him.

As they stopped in the front of them all Yami Marik leant down to her a little and whisper into her ear. "Ready for the show? You will soon learn that I _AM_ the shadows." He grinned demonically and his breath on her neck sent a shiver down her spine.

A bright light came from the millennium rod in his hands and within seconds the chamber filled with dark fog and dark violet clouds. Jesara started to tremble in fear. Nothing scared her more than this place…this other dimension.

Something like a shadow portal formed in front of them and her amber-olive eyes widened in horror. _'Please… don't come here… Stay away.'_ Jesara prayed mentally and hoped that Marik won't come here. It could be his death and she couldn't bare the fact that she would be responsible for his passing.

A grin from ear to ear was plastered onto Yami Marik's face. He stood right beside her with his muscular arms folded elegantly in front if his chest. Jesara's heart pounded wildly against her ribcage as she stared into the portal in front of her. And then the first silhouette appeared in the shadows. Yami stepped out of the clouds and looked carefully at his surroundings before his dangerously narrowed eyes met the gaze of his enemy.

"Long time no see, Marik." Yami hissed. Soon after that also Joey, Tristan and Tea came out of the portal behind him. "Oh my god! Jess" Tea wined as she saw her friend standing right beside Yami Marik.

"Shit! That freak really found a way back! And he's even got the same idiotic haircut like last time!" Joey shouted out and pointed his finger towards him. "Jess, hold on! We'll get ya outta here!"

"Welcome, welcome, my friends. Welcome to the last day of your lives. Pretty nice that you also brought your friends here to die with you." He laughed threatening. Jesara looked down to them with a pain-stricken gaze. Her lips formed a silent "I'm so sorry.".

And then Jesara's heart skipped a beat when she realised three more people coming from the dark clouds. Ishizu, Odion…Marik. When their eyes locked for a moment time stood still for a few seconds. "Jesara!" Marik shouted out and bursted forward, ignoring the pain that tortured his head. "You're alive!" But then Yami held him back and just shook his head at the sandy blonde.

"Hahahahahaha. Look who also decided to join our little party. Marik, my precious weaker half! Ra, you look wasted! Hahahaha." Yami Marik laughed in evil excitement.

"What have you done to her!? I promise, I will make sure to kill you slowly if there's only one scratch in her!" Marik hissed dangerously, but his dark side only answered his threat with another smirk on his face. Jesara wanted so much to run to him, but the force of her captor held her back.

Another figure stepped out of the clouds. It was Tahir. Jesara stared at him, not knowing who he was and what he had to do here. She'd never before seen that man with those icy blue-greyish eyes and warm brown middle long hair. But she knew that white cape. Could it be…? _'Is that the stranger who stalked me in Domino!?'_ She questioned herself mentally in horror.

"Master Marik, that guy must be that Tahir I told you about!" Carter explained and bowed down as he spoke.

Jesara's eyes shot wide open and her body froze. _'Tahir… THIS is my brother?'_

The portal closed behind them. "It's so nice to meet you, my dear Tahir. Unfortunately your little tale of a prophecy won't fulfil. But before I'll deal with that I make sure that Yami won't ever bother me again." Yami Marik chuckled.

Tahir's eyes narrowed at him. "Set my sister free, demon! Destiny isn't on your side!"

"Let her go!" Marik commanded. "Now!"

"Ts ts ts." Yami Marik wagged his index finger at them. "She's fine and enjoys her time here with me." He teased and it it made Marik's blood boil.

"Marik! We will discuss that in a duel! I know you want to challenge me for a revenge! But you will fail bitterly. So lets not loose any more time." Yami challenged and and balled his fist.

Yami Marik laughed. "Trust my, pharaoh. You won't win this time. Your power is literally already mine."

"No!" Marik cut in and then positioned himself in front of Yami. "I will challenge you! It's my fault that you're still existing! It's my fault that I wasn't able to protect Jesara from being taken away by you! I will duel you!"

Jesara looked at him with shocked eyes. "No! Marik, don't do that! He's stronger than ever before! You're risking too much!"

Carter grinned from ear to ear. "That's a wonderful idea, Marik." He said. Marik's gaze snapped back at him.

"YOU!" He spat as he recognised him. Carter nodded amusingly at him.

"Exactly. I can't wait to see you die. Finally I get the revenge I was craving for for so long." Carter grinned. "I can't wait to see our true Master giving you what you deserve."

Yami Marik then stepped closer to his weaker half. "So be it, my dear Marik."

* * *

**AN: Time for the showdown! I promise to update as soon as I can. Now I have a little more free time and time to write. Stay tuned!**

**Reviews and feedback are highly appreciated and would cheer up my day! Leave one if you like.**


	14. The Devil's Bargain

**AN: Hurray, back with an update. Shit is getting serious. This chapter contains a duel, so I wanted to explain a few things before you dive right into it.**

**First I decided to list the ATK or DEF first according to the monster's current position on the field. So if it's in DEF-mode, I will list the DEF points first like (DEF / ATK) rather than (ATK / DEF).**

**Second, since there's a lot of conversation during the duel I decided to insert a quick info every once in a while about what cards are in play to remind you. Since it was also hard for me to write, I thought it would be necessary to insert it.**

**Well then, enjoy! Let's get ready to rumble :P**

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**CHAPTER XIII  
****The Devil's Bargain**

"Marik, please. Think twice." Ishizu urged and put her hand on her brothers shoulder, hoping he would overthink his decision. "It's too dangerous." Her piercing blue eyes gave him a look of utter concernment.

He glanced back at her over his shoulder with a determined expression in his lavender irises. "It's my duty to fight against him, sister. It's my chance to make things even between the pharaoh and me. I want to put things right for what I've done to him and his friends during Battle City."

Yami stepped in. "Your sister is right, Marik. You don't owe me anything. It's not worth risking your life. He wants me, not you."

Marik turned around to face him. "I do. I betrayed you, my family and to top it all I wanted to kill you no matter the cost."

Jesara made a step forward, but was held back by Yami Marik and his tight grip on her upper arm. "Listen to them! Please. I lost you once and I'm not willing to loose you again." She begged with dismay in her undertone. "PLEASE, don't duel him."

Yami Marik raised his brow in amusement and shoved Jesara back behind him again. "Enough now. Hahaha. We'll have our little duel."

Marik stared at him with his eyes narrowed dangerously, then he nodded. "Ready when you are, demon."

Both of them readied their duel disks and packed their decks into them after they shuffled their cards carefully. A dangerous silence hung in the air, it was almost electrifying and frightening. Jesara had last seen him this determined during Battle City, but this time he was fighting for the right side. She wished she could just run to him and hug him, to put her arms around his shoulders and bury her head into his neck. But the power of Yami Marik's millennium rod literally glued her to where she was standing. All she could do now was watch and hope for the best. Marik was too stubborn to overthink his decision just once.

"Before we start I want to make one thing clear." Marik spoke up when he drew the first set of cards from his deck. "If I win this duel you will set Jesara free, unharmed. The winner lives, the looser dies." His words made Jesara cringe in fear. The chance of seeing him die right in front of her eyes was real - too real.

Yami Marik's evil smirk grew wider. "That's a high price you are willing to pay, little one. But I accept your terms and can't wait to see you die like you were supposed to do when I last had control over your body. You will regret this deal with the devil, Marik." He then also drew the first cards from his deck. "Since you are my precious guest the first turn is yours."

Marik let out a growl at his words. "Spare me your empty threats."

"Don't let him get to you, Marik." Yami said from behind him and gave him a reassuring glance. "Focus on the duel and your cards. Just listen to the heart of your cards."

"Screw it." Joey murmured to Tristan and Tea beside him and rubbed his head in confusion. "As if one of them wasn't already enough."

Tea gave him a gently slap on his head's back. "Idiot."

"Ouch. What was that for? I just wanted to say that I never expected that I would hope for Marik to win a duel." Joey apologised sheepishly.

Marik took a careful look with his icy stare at the cards in his hand. "Watch this. I open this duel with one monster face-down in defence mode and another face-down card in my spell and trap area. Your turn."

"That's already everything? I'm afraid this duel will be over sooner than expected. You will have to come up with a little more than that to defeat me, little Marik." His alter ego taunted and drew a card from his deck, which he eyed in amusement. "I summon Newdoria (ATK 1200/ DEF 800) in attack mode and place one card face-down on the field for your surprise later. Since Newdoria only has 1200 attack points I will tune it a little with my spell card Black Pendant, which gives him an additional 500 ATK. (ATK 1700 / DEF 800). Attack his face down monster now!"

The creature bolted forward and Jesara pressed her eyes shut, hoping that Marik's face down card would save his monster from the attack, but it didn't activate. The monster card flipped up and revealed an Egyptian looking knight. Newdoria attacked it with all his power, but Marik's monster easily negated it and threw the creature back.

"Nice try. You revealed my Gravekeeper's Spy (DEF 2000 / ATK 1200) and since your Newdoria doesn't have enough attack power you loose 300 of your life points." Marik explained with a smart smirk. His eyes locked with Jesara's for a moment, who let out a sigh of relief. He gave her a reassuring nod before his attention went back to his opponent. His look said _'Everything will be fine, don't worry.'_ without even using words.

Yami Marik kept his poker face on and remained unfazed by his failed attack as his life points dropped down to 3700.

"You also activated my monster's special effect. It allows me to special summon another Gravekeeper's monster from my hand or deck, which attack points are below 1500. And I decide for my Gravekeeper's Curse. (ATK 800 / DEF 800) When this monster is summoned it automatically inflicts your life points with a damage of 500 as a welcome present." Marik explained triumphantly as his opponents life points dropped again.

Marik: 4000 LP / Yami Marik: 3200 LP

Yami Marik narrowed his eyes dangerously at him. He really didn't expect his weaker half to lower his life points so easily in just one turn without normal attacks. "Well played, Marik, well played. But that was just luck."

Ishizu and Odion smiled at each other. Before Marik gave up on his plans of taking over the world he hated those cards. Ishizu helped Pegasus with the card design and he wasn't amused about her selling their ancient heritage, which gave him nothing but mental and physical pain. After Yami defeated his dark side during Battle City he finally accepted his fate as a tomb keeper and building his deck out of Gravekeeper cards was his way to show his pride about being a member of the Ishtar clan.

Marik elegantly crossed his arms in front of his chest and gave him an arrogant glare. "That was just the warm up, you psychopath. You and my foolish former servant Carter will pay for kidnapping Jesara and for the whole shit you are doing to the world again. I'll make sure that you won't neither hurt her, nor anyone else."

"You know, Marik…" Yami Marik grinned and shrugged innocently. "I did nothing to your little Jesara that she didn't enjoy."

With those words Marik's lavender eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" He asked and tilted his head to the side a little, so that his signature golden earrings jiggled a little beside his tensed jaw.

Jesara swallowed half-panicking and her heart started to race uncontrollably. Nervously she wrapped her arms around her chest and prepared herself for a lot of explanation work. He shouldn't learn about their little, unintended intermezzo that way. She knew that Marik's alter ego would use this information to put him off his stride and intimidate him - it was just a question of time.

Yami Marik gave Jesara an amused glance back over his shoulder and grinned at her with his spooky blank lavender eyes. "I'm having a good day, so it's up to you, sweetheart. Do you want to tell him or should I?"

Her cheeks started to burn like fire from all the shame that came to the surface again. Her teeth bit deep into her lips until it started to hurt. Panic creeped up her spine and her words were literally stuck in her throat. With trembling hands Jesara opened her mouth, but wasn't able to say just a single word when her eyes were fixed to the floor underneath her feet. She couldn't look him in the eye with all the embarrassment that tortured her right now.

"Lost for words, my dear?" Yami Marik grinned back at her before his attention went back to Marik, who stared at them in confusion that slowly started to turn into concernment. Ishizu, Tahir and everyone else eyeballed each other with questioning glances.

"What. Is. Going. On. Here." Marik slowly lost patience and gave his evil side a death stare. "SPIT IT OUT!"

"You know, little Marik, Jesara and I just got to know each other a little better and made wonderful love." Yami Marik spoke his fateful lines. "She's a quite nice catch, Marik. Congratulations."

Everyone stared at him in shock with their mouth agape, lost for words. For a few seconds there was only silence. Marik stared at his other half with a staggered expression and then to Jesara, who covered her teary face from all the shame. She wasn't able to look him in the eye after that.

"That's a lie!" The sandy blonde pressed out.

A loud laugh escaped from Yami Marik's throat and echoed through the big burial chamber. "I'm telling you the truth. She literally begged me on her knees to fuck her." He added with a smirk, waiting for his weaker half to explode.

"You are lying! She would never do that!" Marik repeated and formed his piano thin fingers into fists, trembling from hate and anger that flooded his features.

Jesara wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I wish it was… I-I am so sorry… He controlled me with the rod, I swear! T-there was no chance t-to fight against it. Please, believe me."

This unexpected information needed a few seconds to sink in. Marik's sandy blonde bangs hid the disappointment in his eyes. He was close to break out in tears, but choked them back as good as possible. Jesara stared at him with more tears building up in her eyes, waiting for an answer.

"It's my turn, again." Marik then murmured short and crisp, pushing the thought aside and tried to focus back on the duel. His voice held strength and determination, but the chagrin in his undertone couldn't be overheard. "I draw. I tribute my Gravekeeper's Curse to summon Gravekeeper's Visionary. (ATK 2000 / DEF 1800) in attack mode. Thanks to its special effect it gains an additional 200 ATK for each Gravekeeper's monster in my graveyard, what makes it a total of 2200. Before I destroy your Newdoria I activate Necrovalley, which gives each of my Gravekeeper's monsters 500 ATK and DEF on top."

_Gravekeeper's Visionary (ATK 2700 / DEF 2300)  
Gravekeeper's Spy (DEF 2500 / ATK 1700)  
one face-down card_

"YEAH! Kick his ass, Marik!" Joey cheered behind him. "Show him that he can't mess with Jess or anyone of us and get away with it!"

"Visionary, attack his Newdoria!" Marik commanded with an icy glare. The monster had the face of the Egyptian god Anubis paired with the body of a human, dressed in an ancient attire of a high priest. It lifted its sceptre and shot a blinding beam of light towards his opponents creature.

The attack didn't even faze Yami Marik and he grinned evilly from ear to ear. "I don't think so, Marik." He said dryly and activated his face-down card. "I block your attack with my trap card Sakuretsu Armor. Bye bye, Visionary and my Newdoria stays safe and sound." With that Marik's monster blew up in pieces. Jesara and all others cringed from the loud bursting sound.

He growled angrily when he watched his attack fail. "I end my turn."

"Nothing else did I expect, little Marik." Yami Marik teased and drew his next card. "I summon Dark Jeroid in attack mode. (ATK 1200 / DEF 1500) I think you remember him well. Thanks to his special effect one of your monsters loose 800 ATK, which is your Gravekeeper's Spy." (DEF 2000 / ATK 700).

Marik shrugged his shoulders. "My Spy is still in defence mode and your Jeroid is too weak to beat its 2000 DEF points."

"Ts Ts Ts." Teasingly Yami Marik wagged his forefinger at him. "I'm not finished yet, little Marik. Prepare yourself for a lot of damage. I play Graceful Charity, what means I can draw 3 and discard 2 cards. Next I switch your Spy from defence to attack mode with my Stop Defence magic card."

Marik's lavender eyes shot wide open when his Spy stood up from his kneeling position. "No!"

"Hahaha. It's getting better, just watch. I also play Monster Reborn." Yami Marik announced and showed his weaker half the card with a smirk plastered on his lips. "I discarded my Legendary Feind to my graveyard just one second ago and now I'm bringing it back to the field. (ATK 1500 / DEF 1800). And then I also place another face-down card onto the field."

"Oh Ra, please no…" Jesara muttered and pressed her palms onto her mouth in panic.

_Legendary Feind (ATK 1500 / DEF 1800)  
Dark Jeroid (ATK 1200 / DEF 1500)  
Newdoria (ATK 1700 / DEF 800)  
one face down cards_

Marik tried his best to keep his poker face in place, but he knew this was going to get ugly.

"Newdoria! Destroy his Spy!" Yami Marik commanded with an evil laugh and his creature dashed forward to destroy Marik's only remaining monster.

"Negative! I activate my trap card Mirror Force! It won't just negate your attack, but it also destroys all your monsters in attack mode!" Marik announced and activated his face-down card.

Yami Marik smirked. "False. I activate Remove Trap. And now Newdoria, attack!"

"No!" Jesara cried out when Marik watched how his trap card blew up in pieces and Yami Marik's monster destroying his Gravekeeper's Spy.

His life points dropped to 3000 straight. "Dark Jeroid, Legendary Feind! Attack my precious weaker half directly!"

His monsters bolted forward towards Marik, who was hit by their power with full tilt. Jesara shrieked when he was swooped down to the ground and let out a moan from the pain. "Marik! Are you alright!?" She cried out and wished she was able to run to him to help him, but the power of the millennium rod didn't let her.

He just gave her a hurtful glance and got back to his feet. His elbows were bruised from the attack; he almost forgot that this was a shadow game and actually very real.

Marik: 300 LP / Yami Marik: 3200 LP

"Brother!" Ishizu cried out loud and tried to get to him, but Odion held her back.

"This duel isn't over yet." Marik muttered and drew a card from his deck. He was now left without any defence and needed to get this duel back on track, otherwise his loose was inevitable. Tears streamed down Jesara's cheeks and she prayed to all gods she knew mentally.

"I summon my Gravekeeper's Ambusher in attack mode! Thanks to Necrovalley, which is still active, it gains 500 more attack and defence points! (ATK 2200 /DEF 500). And I also p-" Marik explained and wanted to set a spell card into his duel disk when his dark side cut him off with a loud laugh.

"Hahahahahaha. You're done…" He chuckled with a smirk. "Whatever you wanted to play, Marik… It's over."

He stared at him in confusion and shock. "What!?"

"Here comes my final card… Just Desserts." With that Yami Marik's face down card flipped open and Marik froze. "This trap card inflicts your life points by 500 for every monster on your side of the field."

Jesara fell down to her knees and started to sob heavily as she realised that Marik's loose was inevitable. She crawled forward and grabbed for Yami Marik's ankle. "No! Please don't do that! He has nothing to do with that! Please!" She begged with panic in her voice, but he ignored her elegantly.

"You loose." Yami Marik said cooly and Marik's life points dropped down to zero. Ishizu also slumped down to the knees beside Odion in shock. Yami and the others watched the scene in horror.

Marik was lost for words and froze. He lost more than just a duel. He lost his life, he disappointed his pharaoh and the worst of all: he lost her to the demon he created long time ago.

The monsters on the field faded away when the duel disks deactivated and Yami Marik stepped closer to his weaker half with a winning smirk plastered on his face. "You know, my dear Marik, there's one more thing you should know before the shadows eat up your soul."

Jesara screamed at the top of her lungs and begged crawling in her knees for him to stop it, but she just got ignored by Marik's dark side. She cried louder and louder, tears streaming down her burning cheeks like waterfalls, but to no avail.

Yami Marik then leant forward to his other half's ear, wearing his devilish grin on his lips. "It's too bad that you won't see your son growing up. What a pity, little Marik." He whispered into his ear, but still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted out in rude shock at his venomous words.

"M-my son?" Marik stuttered, still not believing his ears.

Yami Marik nodded amusingly. "Congratulations, daddy. Your little girl is very pregnant." He taunted demonically.

Marik's attention snapped back to Jesara, who cried bitterly on her knees. She just nodded at him with tears in her amber-olive eyes. "It's true…"

"The prophecy…" Tahir said wisely. "It fulfils."

Yami shot him a questioning glance, so did Ishizu and everyone else. "My sister's and Marik's baby will inherit your soul, my pharaoh. This kid is your reincarnation, there's no doubt." Tahir explained wisely and stared at the scene in front of him.

"Shit is getting weirder and weirder… what the crap!?" Joey cried out in confusion.

Odion helped Ishizu to her feet and she drew closer to Tahir with dismay written in her clear blue eyes. "B-but Marik isn't his greatest enemy… That doesn't make sense!"

"It does. Marik and his dark side are literally one and the same… Believe me. She carries the rebirth of our king beneath her heart." Tahir said again.

"Enough now." Yami Marik cut them off. "Time to say your goodbyes, Marik." With that he loosened his mind controlling powers on Jesara and she immediately got up to her feet to run to him. She wrapped her arms tight around his shoulders, crying into his neck. The warmth of his body and the smell of his sandy blonde hair gave her the feeling of safeness.

"I'm so sorry, Marik. I should have listened to you! This is all my fault!" Jesara whined. "Why did you challenge him!? Why! I can't loose you again…"

Marik's hand stroked over her light grey hair and he then looked her straight into her amber-olive eyes. "Shhhh…" He tried to calm her. "The pharaoh will defeat him like he did before. Promise me one thing…"

She nodded at him unconditionally with her watery eyes. "Everything."

"Take care of our son and tell him I love him if I don't find a way back to you. I love you." Marik said with a weak voice and leant forward to her to kiss her one last time.

"And again another Ishtar son will loose his father because of the great pharaoh… Some things never change." Yami Marik said chuckling evilly and as he snipped with his fingers the millennium rod in his hand started to glow brightly. Just a second before Marik's and Jesara's lips were able to meet each other in one last kiss his body started to dissolve into dark fog. With terror in her eyes she watched how her whole world faded away and got devoured by the shadows.

* * *

**AN: And there Marik goes to the shadow realm again. I'm so sorry, but it was necessary! I really messed him up here. xD Sorry when the duel wasn't that long, but I'm not good in writing duels. D: hope you enjoyed it anyways.**

**I'll be back with an update ASAP. :-)**


	15. Once And For All

**AN: Update Update! :D The fight continues! Guess I won't have to add something to that, huh? Same duel rules like in the last chapter :-) Excuse me when there are any errors in the duel - I tried my best.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER XIV  
****Once & For All**

Carter grinned evilly from the side when he watched his former Master dissolving in dark fog, becoming one with the shadow realm. "Finally I got revenge for what Marik has done to me. Finally I have justice."

"BE QUIET!" Jesara pressed out between heavy sobs.

It was like her whole world collapsed and everything fell apart right in front of her eyes. Jesara's vision got blurrier when hot tears built up more and more by the second, streaming down her cheeks like a waterfall. She still couldn't realise that he was gone - taken away from her by the shadows.

"My brother…" Ishizu cried in shock and took her sister in law into a comforting embrace. Both of them sobbed heavily in each others arms.

Yami and his friends watched the scene in horror, lost for words. Tea also kneeled down beside her friend and hugged her in condolence with teary eyes. "Jess… I'm so sorry." She whispered with a weak voice.

Also Odion began to cry. He had vowed to protect Marik no matter the costs, but he couldn't do anything to protect him from his darker half. Tahir put his hand on Odion's shoulder in a comforting way as he sensed the rage building up inside of him. His olive eyes narrowed dangerously in distress and anger at Yami Marik, who grinned evilly in joy because of the damage he had caused. Odion's hands balled into fists, ready do beat the crap out of Marik's demon while Jesara and Ishizu cried their heart out.

"You monster! What have you done!?" Odion hissed loudly, his voice filled with fury. He stepped forward towards Yami Marik, but Tahir held him back. "Odion. Hold on." He tried to comfort him.

Yami Marik chuckled evilly at him. "Odion, Odion. How does it feel like to fail so miserably as little Marik's guardian?" He teased him, putting more fuel to the fire that burned in Odion's eyes.

"Hold your demonic tongue!" Odion spat back and tried his best to hold back his temperament.

"Enough now!" Yami cut in. "You wanted me. So let's get this done now and duel!"

"Hahahaha." Yami Marik laughed in amusement. "Somebody can't await his defeat. Ready when you are, _pharaoh_." His arms were arrogantly folded in front of his muscular chest when he glared at his next opponent. Then he glanced down at Jesara, who cried her crying face in her palms and smirked triumphantly. "Oh come on, little one. Get over it. My weaker half wasn't the best catch of all time anyways."

She stared up at him with tortured eyes, her eyeliner leaving black traces all over her cheeks. "Shut up, you freak! Bring him back!" Jesara screamed out with a voice close to breaking and stood up, making a bolt towards him. "You killed my child's father! My EVERYTHING! Bring him back!" With a rough grip she packed him by the collar of his black shirt and glared at him furiously through teary eyes. But all he did was answering her insults with an unimpressed grin plastered on his face.

"Jess! Stop it!" Joey interrupted and grabbed Jesara by her waist and lifting her up. "You need to calm down now! Yugi will kick this maniac's ass to the moon, Jess. And he will bring Marik back." Joey tried to comfort her and her carried her away. "Right?" He asked as he glanced over to Yami.

"Right." Yami answered short and crisp with confidence glowing in his lilac eyes.

"Wait and see, pharaoh. Wait and see." Yami Marik chuckled. "Don't bring her too far away, little Joey. We don't want her to miss the best part." He then glanced over to his servants from the corner of his blank eyes. "They won't get out of here anyways. My servants are everywhere."

"Fuck off, you insane twerp!" Joey hissed back at him and carried Jesara outside. She still fought against it, but there was no chance for her. Odion helped Ishizu up and followed them outside of the tomb chamber, such as Tahir.

"Let's duel, Marik." Yami growled with determination. "When you win this duel you get what you want. If I defeat you a second time you will disappear forever and bring your weaker half back safe and sound. Are we clear!?"

Yami Marik chuckled and shrugged arrogantly. "Sounds like a good deal. I can't wait to see you die, pharaoh. This time won't be so easy like last time."

Then both of them shuffled their decks and readied their duel disks. "DUEL!"

Once Jesara and the others were around the corner Joey sat her down and she leant herself against the stone cold wall with her back. She let out an exhausted sigh and wiped away the tears that streamed down her cheeks. "Thank you, Joey." Jesara whispered between sobs.

Tahir bent down to his knees beside her. "Sister. I'm so sorry. I really wished we'd meet again under different circumstances…" His greyish blue eyes locked with hers.

Jesara stared at him in disbelief. "You…really are my _brother_?"

He nodded and forced a smile. "My name is Tahir. Oldest son of the clan of Amun, your older brother."

She swallowed and her heart started to race. "I forgot you. I can't remember just anything…"

"It's true, Jesara." Ishizu choked back a tear and lied her hand on her shoulder. "Jesara. I need to ask you that. You're _really_ pregnant?"

She nodded briefly and bit her lip to hold back the tears that started to build up again when she thought back to Marik and how he dissolved into nothing right in front of her eyes. "I think so… I'm overdue for weeks, but I didn't test it yet…" She muttered under her breath.

Ishizu and Tahir looked at each other thoughtfully.

"A-and you really think that this…baby is the fulfilment of…this prophecy?" Jesara asked awkwardly and her hand brushed gently across her lower belly. This was probably everything that was left from him and it almost broke her heart.

"Don't you think that this is a little weird? I mean. Yami is right over there. How could Jesara be pregnant with his reincarnation?" Joey asked in confusion and rubbed his blonde head.

"It's true, Joey." Tahir answered. "The prophecy revealed itself to me multiple times in my dreams. But I didn't know, nor did I expect it would be my own sister carrying his rebirth beneath her heart."

Jesara blinked at him after he said that and let out a sigh. "In your dreams…?" Her heart started to race when finally everything made sense. Tahir nodded wordlessly at his sister. She wrinkled her brow and stared right into his cool blue irises. "Oh Ra…"

"What's wrong, Jesara?" Ishizu asked apprehensively. "You look distressed…"

She swallowed. "I had dreams too. When Battle City ended I started being haunted by nightmares. I saw Marik's darker side and he said that I'll see him again." Another tear ran down her cheek. "A-and I also saw Marik… dying. Dissolving in the shadows." She stuttered painfully. "Oh Ra… I thought my brain was only playing tricks on me after everything what happened during that stupid tournament. But my nightmares were visions of the future. I-I… I've known what would happen…. And I let Marik run right into his death… I-I could have saved him…" Jesara sobbed heavily and started to hyperventilate when she realised the real meaning of her dreams lately. "It's all my fault!"

Joey took her in a tight hug and patted her shoulder. "Shhhhh. Nothing is your fault, Jess. Yugi promised it to bring Marik back. He always keeps his promises, you know that." He tried to comfort her.

Tahir exhaled in relief and a little smile appeared on his lips. "You start to remember where you come from and who you really are. I tried my best to awake those memories inside of you, but Marik had been quite effective with the millennium rod."

Jesara glanced back at him. "_You_ were the stranger who stalked me. B-but why didn't you say anything?"

"You wouldn't have believed me anyways." He answered and shot her a weary smile.

She nodded in return. "Maybe… D-did your dreams show you about who will win this? Or about… Marik?"

He shook his head in dismay. "I'm sorry."

"That doesn't mean anything, Jesara." Odion calmed her down. "We need to trust our pharaoh."

Jesara then loosened her grip around Joey and bowed forward to hug Odion tightly. She buried her face in his chest. "I hope you are right… so much." She then stroked over her lower belly again. "This kid needs a father. And I'm nothing without him. I miss him so much, already."

Ishizu lied her hand on top of Jesara's and gave her a slight smile with tears in her piercing blue eyes. "Believe in him." She said wisely. "I can't believe I'm becoming an aunt."

"We should go back and cheer Yugi on, what do ya think?" Joey interrupted them with a positive Wheeler-smile. "I bet he's already kicking his dumb ass."

They all nodded at each other and Odion helped Jesara up back on her feet. After letting out one last sigh as an attempt to calm herself down Jesara and the others returned back into the tomb chamber, where Yami and Marik's dark side were already playing their fateful duel.

"Oh see who's back and graces us with her presence. My sweet little Jesara, I will make this short so that we can have some more fun with each other. Hahaha." Yami Marik teased when he glanced over his opponents shoulder and shot Jesara an amused grin.

She narrowed her amber-olive eyes at him. "Oh please, spare me your venomous words."

"Stop jerking around and make your final move, Marik." Yami growled at him. Jesara was impressed by the monsters the pharaoh had summoned on his side of the field. He had his favourite monster's in the game; The Dark Magician (2500/2100) and the Black Magician Girl (2000/1700) in attack mode, such as The Skilled Dark Magician (1900/1700). Besides that he had two cards face-down in his spell & trap card area.

On Yami Marik's side of the field she saw one of his signature monster's; Revival Jam in defence mode (500/1500) floating a few inches over ground. He also had Jam Defender in play to keep his life points safe from any kind of attack.

"This dumbass is playing the same old game again! Don't you have something new to offer, spiky!?" Joey spat with his fists balled.

"You will be the second one I'll feed to the shadows once I've won this duel, little Joey!" Yami Marik then drew a card from his deck with his signature grin plastered on his demonic face. "Wonderful. Exactly what I needed to win this duel."

**Yami LP 1200 / Yami Marik 2450**

"You have nothing to beat my faithful magicians, Marik. And I'll beat you with your own precious monster in the next turn, The Winged Dragon Of Ra. But go on, the sooner we end this the better." Yami teased and glanced down at the golden card in his hand, which he would summon within his next turn.

Yami Marik just grinned. "Oh, you think? Then look at this. I summon Ra's Disciple in defence mode." A figure in a golden armour appeared on the field beside Revival Jam. (600/1100).

"And what do you plan with such a weak monster, Marik? Explain this." The pharaoh asked with eyes narrowed to slits.

"Of course. Now that I summoned one Ra's Disciple I'm allowed to special summon two more from my hand and deck directly to the field." He explained and then two more of the same monster appeared on the field. "This card could only be used as a tribute for the Winged Dragon of Ra."

"His time in the shadow realms seems to have burned the rest of his brain! Ra isn't in your possession anymore, idiot!" Joey hissed from behind.

Yami Marik's piano thin fingers then elegantly grabbed for a special card in his hand. "That's exactly why I'm activating this spell card. Exchange."

"No!" Yami cried out loud.

Jesara's eyes shot wide open. "The pharaoh already has Ra in his hand… He wants to summon Ra…" She said to herself under her breath and stared up at her older brother in concernment.

"Oh yes, pharaoh. If you'd be so kind and hand over my precious god card. Hahaha." He laughed and went over to his opponent. Yami handed his god card over while he shot him a death stare, then he chose one of Yami Marik's cards.

"Which card did he choose?" Tea asked curiously with concernment in the undertone of her voice.

Jesara glanced over to her friend. "Hopefully something good."

"You may already know what I will do now, my dear pharaoh. I tribute my three Disciples and summon The Winged Dragon Of Ra!" Yami Marik stated and laughed evilly when all three of his monsters disappeared in a blinding, golden light. As the light died out the yellow godlike dragon appeared on Yami Marik's side of the field. "Finally my beloved dragon is back in my possession." (3300 / 1800)

Everyone stared up at the impressing creature in horror, knowing that the tables had turned for the worse.

Yami instead remained unimpressed by the new outcome. "You are playing the same trick again and again, Marik. But don't you think that I don't know what your plans are?"

"Hahahaha. Watch this. I activate Ra's special effect: I pay 1000 of my life points to transform Ra into his unbeatable Phoenix mode and then I will destroy everything on your side of the field! Hahahahaa."

**Yami LP 1200 / Yami Marik 1450**

With shock written to their faces they had to watch how Ra turned into a burning phoenix and with one single stroke of his wings he set everything on fire. Yami's monsters disappeared in an endless inferno. "No! My Dark Magicians!" He cried out.

"Hahahaha. Now you are left without any protection, pharaoh. I can't wait to see how you want to put up with this. I end my turn. Good luck, you'll need it." Yami Marik grinned, certain of his success.

Yami slowly closed his lilac eyes as his fingers rested on his deck, ready to draw the next card. "Heart of the cards, guide me." He muttered silently and drew. A confident smile crept across his thin lips as he glanced down at the card in his hand.

"What did he draw?" Tahir asked curiously.

"Why don't you tell me? Thought you were the one who sees the future." Joey shrugged and glanced at Jesara's brother.

"Alright, Marik. You may have destroyed my monsters, but we aren't done yet. I activate my face-down card Monster Reborn and bring my Dark Magician Girl back to life! I then activate my other card, Sage's Stone! This spell card allows me to bring my Dark Magician back!" He explained as his two favourite monsters appeared back on the field in attack mode.

Yami Marik frowned in surprise. "That won't help you just a little bit, pharaoh. Your magicians are still weaker than my god card."

Yami grinned at him. "Who said that I'm already finished? Don't you remember that I still have the card I choose from your hand? I activate Overdone Burial!"

A growl left Yami Marik's throat as his own card was used by his opponent. "That's still not enough, pharaoh."

"Wait and see. I discard my Valkyrion The Magna Warrior from my hand to my graveyard to summon Berfomet in attack mode!" (1400/1800). Yami explained with a smirk.

Everyone eyeballed him in confusion. "What is wrong with him!? Why does he summon so much weaker monsters in attack mode!? This oversized grilled chicken will eat them for breakfast!" Joey cried out.

Jesara wrapped her arms around herself for comfort in this dark hour. "He knows what he's doing - you can see it in his eyes. The pharaoh could still normal summon a monster and now he has three on his side of the field. He's going to summon a god card… there's no doubt." She whispered to her blonde friend.

Beats of sweat formed on Yami Marik's forehead as he realised what his opponent was about to do.

"I tribute my Dark Magician, my Dark Magician Girl and Berfomet to summon this!" He announced confidently when suddenly bolts of thunder hit the field in front if them. "Slifer The Sky Dragon!"

Yami Marik's gaze darkened as the crimson dragon made its glorious appearance on the pharaoh's side of the field.

"YEAH! Yugi! Kick his dumb ass right to the moon!" Tristan cheered with a grin.

"I have four cards left on my hand, Marik. What means that Slifer has 4000 attack points." He explained. (4000 / 4000)

"That's still no threat, pharaoh. Did you forget that my Revival Jam and Jam Defender is still in play? Slifer won't get close to Ra in any way. You waste your time and resources." Yami Marik teased and tried to make the upcoming attack of Slifer appear less threatening.

"He's right." Tahir commented sternly.

Yami let out an amused chuckle. For him the duel was already over. "I can't remember that I said I wanted to attack Ra."

His opponent's eyes shot wide open and everyone stared at him in shock. "You're not!?"

"Nope." Yami grinned. "Now I play my last spell card. Block Defense." He announced and and put the card into his duel disk.

"NO!" Yami Marik cried out in horror as he watched how Revival Jam switched from defence to attack mode. (1500/500). "You can't do this!"

"I can. Now watch. Slifer! Attack his Revival Jam!" Yami commanded his crimson red god dragon. With a loud bang and an explosion of white blinding light Slifer shot his attack towards Yami Marik's monster.

Jesara fell to her knees in relief. "Oh Ra… He won…" She sighed with a thankful smile on her lips.

"YOU DID IT! WE KNEW YOU WOULD!" Joey, Tristan and Tea jumped in circles.

Yami Marik's life point counter dropped down to zero and his face went pale. "No. No!" His palm met his chest and he cringed in pain. Something was torturing him.

The Rare Hunters stared at the unexpected outcome of the duel. Shock and disbelief was written to their faces, especially Carter couldn't believe that his new Master failed…again. Silence filled the tomb chamber when The Winged Dragon of Ra and Slifer faded away.

"Rot in hell, once and for all." Yami said short and crisp and Marik's dark side let out a piercing, pain-stricken scream. Suddenly his features began to turn into sand, black as the darkest night. With shocked eyes he watched how his fingers, his wrists and arms fell apart and then also his demonic face started to turn into sand. "NO!"

After just a few seconds there was nothing more left than a heap of black sand and a deep purple cloak on the stone cold floor, such as the millennium rod and ring. Suddenly a strong wind breeze got up in the tomb chamber and blew away what was left of Marik's dark side. Hopefully once and for all.

The Rare Hunters suddenly started to choke and fight for air like something tied up their throat. Yami and the others stared at them in shock as one after the other dissolved in dark smoke, leaving nothing than a dark purple cloak. Carter narrowed his eyes dangerously at Jesara while he fought for air and growled, but then also he vanished away.

"It's over." Yami stated and let out a sigh of relief.

Jesara bit her lip nervously, still kneeling on the floor. "B-but what about Marik? Where is he!?" Panic started to flood her body. What if he won't come back like his dark side promised it?

The dark lilac clouds and fog that covered the tomb chamber since their arrival started to vanish slowly. Tears gathered in Jesara's eyes when the thought of never seeing him again became more and more evident.

"Jesara! Look!" Ishizu called out and pointed towards the thick clouds in front of them. As the clouds became lighter a tall male silhouette appeared. Blonde hair with the colour of Egyptian sand, lavender irises like scorpion grasses and skin tanned from the heat of the orient's sun. Her heart skipped a beat when she finally realised it was him.

"Oh Ra…" She muttered under her breath as he stepped out of the fog and fell to his knees in exhaustion. Within a second she jumped to her feet and ran to him. Her trembling arms took him into a tight embrace, thankful that he really was back from the depths of the shadow realm. Marik returned the hug weakly and buried his face in her neck. "I thought I lost you…" Jesara murmured between sobs of happiness.

"You won't get rid of me so fast, Jesara." He whispered in a low voice and smiled, then he tightened his grip around her waist. For a moment there was only the both of them - reunited.

* * *

**AN: Yay! REUNION! And there he is again! :P**

**Hope you liked this chapter :-) Review if you like, I'd be glad to have your feedback & thoughts.**

**Until next time!**


	16. Delightful Reunion

**AN: Finally I'm back with some new stuff for this story. I'll give you a little break from all the duelling in the last two chapters. Although… no, not really. xD**

**CONTENT WARNING****: Yes, this chapter contains another lemon. So if you're not feeling comfortable with reading dirty stuff (it's fluffy and romantic, believe me) you should stop reading this chapter after the "xx"-mark I usually use between scenes.**

**Warning enough? Good. Have fun :P**

* * *

**CHAPTER XV  
****Delightful Reunion**

Never did they see such a clear and starlit night in all those years they had lived in Egypt. Time was relative when they all sat around a warming campfire just a few metres away from the entrance to the pharaoh's grave somewhere in the wide Egyptian desert. Their battle was over, finally. Yami Marik was - hopefully - dead and banned to the deepest corner of the shadow realm without return.

"God damnit, I'm starving!" Joey winced and laid his head into his palms, observing the flames in front of him and probably imagining a few sausages roasting in them. Tea and Tristan gave the blonde teen an approving nod.

"I guess they don't deliver pizza to an old Egyptian grave, do they?" Tristan sighed hungrily.

Yami and Tahir chuckled at each other. "I'm afraid not, Tristan." Ishizu smiled at the brunette, who rubbed his belly and grimaced when his stomach growled loudly.

"Our father would have killed us when we would have ordered pizza, Joey. But I could see if there's something edible in the pantry in the tomb if you want." Odion suggested and stood up from the desert sand where he sat.

"Sausages!?" Joey and Tristan looked at Odion with joyful glowing eyes.

Odion snickered at them. "No, but maybe dried fruits or nuts."

"Better than nothing, my friends." Tahir grinned at the two. Both of them sighed in frustration, but then nodded. Odion then disappeared and stepped down the stairs to the tomb.

Jesara and Marik also sat by the campfire, but didn't listen to the others. Right now there was just one thing that mattered: them. They cuddled themselves against each other, their bodies covered by a cozy blanket and their arms wrapped tightly around each other.

"I'm so happy to have you back." She whispered while she pressed her body against his. Their foreheads touched and she smiled gracefully.

"Me too." He replied under his breath and pressed a kiss onto her cheek.

"Well then, you two lovebirds!" Tea's voice startled them out of the moment they shared. Jesara and Marik blinked at their brunette friend. "I guess there's a lot we need to catch up on! I mean, what the hell was going on here!?"

"Uhm…" Jesara sighed. "Well… I don't know where to start since I also don't know the whole truth, because a certain sandy blonde erased my memories." She shot Marik beside her a pointed glance with a sarcastic raised brow and then looked at the boy with the piercing blue greyish eyes, who somehow was her brother. Jesara locked eyes with him. He seemed so familiar for her and yet she didn't know just a little thing about the stranger. "Tahir."

Tahir hold back a little grin at his sister's potshot. "Well, what do you want to know?" He asked and smiled at Tea beside him, who immediately blushed when those piercing falcon eyes met hers.

"Uhm, I guess how everything could end up like that!?" She responded and shrugged.

"You already know that Jesara is my sister and that we're members of the Amun clan." Tahir explained and thankfully took a bowl of dried fruits and nuts from Odion, who had returned in the meantime.

"But…" Jesara cut in. "Marik and his father said that I was coming from the Jendayi clan?" She shot him a questioning glance.

"That was a lie of my father… I'm sorry, Jesara." Marik answered and squeezed her shoulder in a lovely way.

"Well, our father and Marik's father arranged your marriage to make sure the bloodline of the Ishtar clan continues. And so you officially became an Ishtar." Tahir narrated and smiled at his sister. "And to calm you down… Marik nor his father did change or manipulate your personality in any way. You just forgot where you came from, nothing else."

Jesara's eyebrows shot up in surprise and then she glanced at Marik beside her. "You didn't?"

"I told you." Marik said with a gentle smile. "_If_ we did you wouldn't be so stubborn like you are." He chuckled at her. Jesara narrowed her eyes at him and gave him another pointed look, but then she smiled at him.

"Look who's talking." She snickered sarcastically at him before her gaze travelled back to her new found brother. "And this prophecy? I mean… The pharaoh is right here." She pointed towards Yami, who sat there with his legs crossed and rubbing his hands in front of the warming flames. His violet eyes observed them cautiously. "How could I be pregnant with his reincarnation? That's freaky, don't you think?"

Everyone nodded at her in agreement. Joey let out a heavy sigh and crossed his arms behind his head. "Oh man, Jess. Aren't ya already used to it that we're frequently dealing with super freaky stuff?"

"He's got a point there, though." Tristan agreed and shrugged, then buried his face in the bowl of nuts and dried fruits again.

"That's true, sister. But…" Tahir then fell silent and shot Marik and Ishizu a meaningful glance with his piercing blue greyish eyes.

Marik let out a sigh. "Pharaoh. Now that you're here you will soon fulfil your ancient destiny." He spoke up and locked eyes with Yami. "What means you will regain your memories, but it also means that you will leave this dimension of time and get back to the life you left behind."

Joey, Tristan and Tea almost spat out the food on which they we're chewing. "WHAT!?" They cried out in unison. Marik, Tahir and Ishizu nodded thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Yami asked and wrinkled a brow at Marik.

"It means that you're going back to your afterlife, because that's where you belong. Your business is done here, pharaoh." Marik answered.

"B-but…" Joey stuttered. "Does that mean…?"

Tahir nodded at him approvingly. "Yes, Joey. As soon as the pharaoh's soul has separated from Yugi and the puzzle he will leave us. That always was part of the plan. And as soon as he's back in his afterlife he will reincarnate in my sister's child. I don't know why destiny planned this yet, but there may be a bigger reason for that."

Jesara glanced to Yami and felt absolutely awkward. It felt so weird for her. In some way her son already sat right in front of her, already grown to the same age like she and Marik was. "Oh Ra…"

Joey cringed at Tahir's words. "Oh god, please… Don't tell me that there are more freaks out there."

"I don't know. After all… everything what happened just led up to this moment." Tahir said wisely. "And there's a good reason for every turn of fate."

Then suddenly Tea cut in and took a deep breath. "Ok, guys! Enough now!" She stood up and looked down to Jesara and Marik, poker face set just perfectly. Both blinked at her, not knowing what was coming next. "To make one thing clear, you two lovebirds. I'll make your life a living hell when I'm not becoming this sweetie's godmother." A friendly grin then appeared on her lips.

"Damn… when you do that that child will be doomed…" Joey held back a grin and immediately earned a backslap from his brunette friend. "Hey! Just sayin'!"

After a few seconds everyone broke out in utter laughter, thankful that the nightmare was finally over. When the flames of the campfire died out the urge of sleep was finally overwhelming the clique and they decided to get some rest. Odion and Ishizu showed them where they could sleep in several rooms of the tomb. The next day may be as exhausting and challenging as the one that laid behind them.

**xx**

Jesara let out a heavy sigh when she entered Marik's former room behind him and glanced at the messy bedsheets laying on the bed and floor. It reminded her of the faux pas with his dark side. It sent a shiver down her spine when she though back to their untamed encounter and how he banged her like there was no tomorrow. She hated herself for it that she was such an easy pray for him and that she didn't fight back more. Also Marik stared down to his former bed with a tortured look, but remained silent.

"Marik, I'm so…sorry." Jesara muttered and drew closer to him. Then she slipped her hand into his. "I wish I could turn back time…"

Marik squeezed her hand a little. "He manipulated you with the millennium rod. You didn't have any other choice than acting according to his dirty will." He said reassuringly, but she knew that her lapse with his dark side tied up his mind.

"Mhm…" Jesara murmured. "Still I feel embarrassed, Marik… I feel guilty."

He then turned back to face her and cupped her cheeks with his warm hands. "Shh. Don't let us talk or think of that ever again, okay? Forget it. So will I."

Gently she wrapped her arms around his waist and choked back a tear. "Okay…" She whispered before Marik's lips met hers in a soft embrace.

"And damn…" He cracked a smile when he broke away. "I'm becoming a father. How crazy is that!?" Right know he looked like the happiest man on earth.

Jesara smiled awkwardly at him. "Yes… maybe we should have thought about brith control before we started to spend more time in bed than on our feet. Sorry, but I still didn't get to wrap my brain around the the fact that we are going to be parents in a few months…"

"No. Jesara, that's just… wonderful." Marik urged and stroked her cheeks with his thumbs. "I always wanted to be a father…although I didn't think of it so early."

Jesara arched a brow at him in surprise. "Really?" She asked and blinked at him. "Just a little time ago you were the high and mighty leader of a worldwide criminal organisation… the least I expected from you was being excited about changing baby diapers."

With an elegant movement he turned her around and rested his chin on her shoulder, watching his hands sliding down her feminine form before they finally stopped on her lower abdomen. Yet there was no difference, but that would change in no time.

"He's going to be the first Ishtar son who won't have to waste his life underground or being forced to undergo the procedure of getting the pharaoh's secret carved into his back with a heated dagger. He will be able to live a normal life among normal people. He is going to have the childhood I never had and I promise it to you that I'll give him the best one possible." Marik said calmly and brushed over her underbelly, his cheeks pressed against hers.

Jesara smiled thankfully and couldn't hold back a little tear of joy that ran down her cheek. She then turned her head to look at him. "Sounds wonderful."

"And I want to you to legally marry me as soon as we get back home. What about… on your eighteenth birthday?" Marik suggested with a smirk and placed a brief kiss on her lips.

"Deal." She whispered and let him deepen the kiss.

Again he turned her around until they faced each other, carefully lifted her up and carried her towards the bed where he laid her down, still pressed his mouth against hers eagerly. She ran her hand through his long sandy blonde hair when he positioned himself on top of her, his hips between her legs. Playfully he gently bit her bottom lip and stared into her amber-olive eyes beneath him.

"Do you even know how freaking much I love you?" He whispered with a hint of desire in his undertone, brushing a few of her light grey hair stands out of the way.

Jesara softly stroked along his muscular jawline with the tip of her index finger and gazed up at him, loosing herself in his lavender irises. "Why don't you show me…?" She asked playfully as a little smirk snaked across her rosy lips, which he returned before he slammed his lips against hers again - hungrier than ever before.

She moaned into their untamed kiss when their tongues danced against each other and pulled him closer down to her, wrapping her arms around his neck. His hands travelled down the frames of her heated body and elegantly pulled up her top greedily. It then flew off to the ground beneath the bed and revealed her feminine chest, covered by a black laced bra. Her heart beat picked up pace and she then hastily undressed him from his shirt too. The sight of his bare, toned chest flooded her body with goosebumps and traced down his flawless abdomen.

"I want you." Jesara muttered under her breath and arched her back in desire when his lips tickled the soft skin on her neck, sending an exciting shiver down her body. It didn't take long that Marik elegantly unclipped her bra and freed her drop-shaped breasts.

Again their mouths literally melted into each other, dancing against each other wildly when Jesara started to unbuckle his belt impatiently. She felt how he grinned into the kiss when she finally managed to open the button and zip of his slim-fitting pants. "I'm all yours." He responded, whispering his words into her ear with a seductive undertone. With every second that passed by she felt how the tension in her body built up and her desire for him grew with every kiss he placed on her neck.

With one sudden movement he pulled down her jeans and underwear and she took a deep breath when she looked down her naked body and then locked eyes with Marik. With a hungry expression written to her face she slowly parted her legs, inviting him.

Jesara's back arched in pleasure when his lips and tongue found her sweet spot. Her fingers tightened their grip in the bedsheets underneath her as her body started to tremble in pleasure with every movement of his mouth. "Oh Ra…" She groaned silently and took in one deep breath after the other. It was almost too much to take for her.

Marik then stopped his bittersweet torture and traced a line up her stomach with the tip of his tongue, then took her nipple between his lips to continue his sensual journey across her body. Finally also his pants and underwear found its way to the cold stone floor and he masterfully pulled her a little closer to him by her waist. Her hands travelled down his neck and back when he leant down to her, observing her reaction to his entrance.

She rolled her eyes to the back of her head when she felt him gliding in to her, filling her up entirely. Her nails dug into the skin of his back in pleasure when she let out another moan. "Nghh. O-oh my… Oh."

"Shhh. Unfortunately we're not alone here." He smirked and silenced her with a deep kiss when he began to thrust gentle and slowly at first. But the possibility of being heard by the others just made the whole thing even more exciting and mind-blowing for them both. Holding it back and trying to be silent seemed impossible for her when the movements of his hips became harder, hitting her like a shockwave.

Another, ecstatically moan left her throat which she wasn't able to hold back anymore because of the quickening thrusts of his hips. "Ahh, Marik… please. Don't stop." She begged him and wrapped her arms around his neck like her dear life depended on it.

"Shhh." He urged again with a playful grin plastered on his lips. "I love you." Marik literally enjoyed how she squirmed under his movements and how her body reacted to him. The little twist of trying to be remain unheard just motivated him more to test out her limits and seeing her body arch in delight drove him closer and closer to the edge.

"I…oh Ra… love you…too." Jesara pressed out between moans, that she tried so hard to control.

Their friends must have been deaf or already in a deep sleep if they didn't hear the bedposts squeaking on the stone floor. His thrusts were now so fast and deep that she wasn't able to take it any longer and got overwhelmed by an intense climax that made her whole body tremble in joy underneath him.

With one last move inside her he let out a loud moan when he finally reached the peak of their love game and the intense feeling hit him like a speedtrain. Panting heavily he collapsed down into her arms, which welcomed him in a tight embrace.

Their bodies were wet from sweat, but they didn't care at all while they tried to recover from their make out.

"Coming home never felt so good…" Marik whispered still out of breath and Jesara's lips formed a smile. She gave him one last kiss before they both got overwhelmed by sleep in each other's arms.

* * *

**AN: Okay, this literally took me for forever and I hope I didn't disturb any of you for days xD And if you don't feel too dirty now after reading this I'd be glad to have your reviews :-)**

**This story is slowly coming to an end, I guess there will be maybe 2 or 3 more chapters before I finally put this thing to rest. I'm already planning on a new story, which will be Kaiba x OC. (Yes, I'm not only a cure Marik fangirl xD) I'll start writing it after completing this one here.**

**Until next time!**


	17. Afterlife

**AN: I'm so sorry that this update is coming so awfully late, sorry that I let you wait SO long. Life got in the way and pretty much happened, besides a massive writer's block that got the best of my while working on this chapter.**

**Forgive me, but I elegantly skipped the duel in here, because I want to focus on the actual plot more than a simple rewrite of the episodes. So no flames for that, please :P**

**Enjoy!**

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**CHAPTER XVI  
****Afterlife**

"Do we really need to do this?" Joey asked sadly. "There's really no other way?"

Ishizu and Odion shook their head in unison, their faces wearing a weary expression. The gang, such as Tahir, stood around the big millennium stone in the burial chamber in which they defeated Marik's evil side once again just one day before. "That's his destiny. I'm afraid there is no other way, Joey."

Tea had a hard time fighting against the tears that started to build up in her cerulean eyes. "But that means that the pharaoh leaves us… forever. Isn't it?"

"It is." Marik said short and crisp. His lavender eyes locked intensively with those of Yami. "Our clan promised it to you five thousand years ago to keep your secret until you come back into this world, which was the moment when Yugi solved the millennium puzzle. We vowed it to you that we will help you to go back to your afterlife and guard your tomb." While he spoke he tightened the grip around Jesara's waist a little more.

"What do I have to do?" Yami asked, his poker face right in place and his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Everyone stared at the sandy blonde. "The millennium items need to be put back to their ancient resting place in the stone. As soon as you place them in the stone the ceremony will begin." He explained.

"Ceremony!?" Joey asked in confusion. "You Ishtars really can't do anything just normal, huh?"

Marik shrugged and gave him a confused glance. "I got used to it."

"Pharaoh, Yugi…" Ishizu spoke up and suddenly Yugi's translucent aura separated from his body. He and his alter ego looked at her attentively. "In the ceremony both of you have to duel against each other and to open the way to the other side you have to beat the pharaoh, Yugi. You have to prove that you are ready to let go."

"And as soon as the duel is over and you lost, pharaoh, you will remember your name." Marik added. "Say it out loud and your destiny fulfils."

"What?" Yugi shrieked. "B-but I… I can't!"

"You can do this, Yugi. It's time for me to go." Yami encouraged his other half. "It's our destiny."

Never before did Jesara see Yugi with so much grief and dismay written to his face. He never thought about saying goodbye to his alter ego, which became a part of him. He never thought about that the day will come to let him go back. Tears formed in his violet eyes.

"Yugi, I know this might be terrifying for you. Loosing your best friend and other half is painful." Jesara tried to comfort him. "But you will see each other again." She shot her young friend a wise smile and stroked gently across her lower abdomen, which didn't look like a baby belly yet. "Remember what the prophecy says. He's gonna be back in less than nine months."

Tahir nodded with a smile. "My sister is right, Yugi. Be sure that the visions of the future never failed me once. It's the will of the gods and fate that you will be reunited again. This goodbye is only temporary, not forever."

Yugi looked up at his alter ego with painful eyes. "Promise me."

Yami nodded back at him. "Promise."

"Pharaoh, it's important that both of you duel with all your power and skills and it's necessary that you don't loose on purpose. Yugi needs to beat you with his own strength." Ishizu instructed them with wiseness in her voice, which was soothing at the same time.

"This will be our hardest duel, Yugi." He said. It was obvious that this goodbye troubled him too. "You will always be a part of me. Thanks for everything."

Yugi choked back a tear and forced a honest smile. "You too, Yami. Let's do this…"

Then Yami went over to the big ancient millennium stone with a big bag in his hands and kneeled down on top of it. He then took the millennium items out of it and placed them into the stone - one after the other. His friends observed him with sadness in their eyes, knowing their time as close friends was almost over.

Yami took one last, thoughtful look at the millennium puzzle - the one thing that his soul had called his home until now - the one thing that brought him together with Yugi, who he had learned to love like a brother. They were soulmates in a special way, the bare thought to leave him behind tortured his brave and fearless soul. He than glanced back over his shoulder to Marik and Jesara and gave them a honest smile. She locked eyes with him for a second, what somehow washed away all his fear. He will come back.

A bright, golden light started to flood the tomb chamber when he finally put the puzzle back into its ancient resting place. Everyone pressed their eyes shut to avoid to be blinded completely. When the light dimmed down they couldn't believe their eyes when they adjusted back to the darkness.

"Guys… Do I loose my mind or do you also see two Yugis!?" Joey asked in confusion.

"I see the same…" Tea stuttered, doubting her sanity when she saw the two versions of her friend facing each other. "There ARE two of them…"

"And so his last journey begins…" Ishizu said to herself thoughtfully.

**xx**

The duel went on for more than an hour and both of them gave their very best. It was nerve wrecking at the same time, because he not just had to duel his other half and best friend but Yugi had also have to face the three Egyptian god cards. Yugi had a hard time with every card he played that brought him closer and closer to victory. With every life point he erased from his opponent it brought him closer to saying goodbye.

**Yami LP 200 / Yugi LP 200**

"I activate Monster Reborn to bring my ancient dragon back to the field! Come back, Slifer The Sky Dragon!" Yami announced with strength in his voice when the crimson red dragon appeared elegantly and dangerous at the same time behind him. "Since I have four cards in my hand my dragon gains 4000 attack and defence points! Attack his Silent Magician and end this duel!"

Yugi hesitated for a second before he finally decided to activate a face down card. Again tears gathered in his violet eyes. "No!"

Silence.

"The effect of my Dark Sarcophagus activates." Yugi explained lightly sobbing. "It negates the spell of your Monster Reborn and sends Slifer The Sky Dragon directly back to the graveyard."

Jesara could tell from her little friend's eyes that this was more than painful for him. Slifer disappeared again without causing any damage to Yugi's monster or life point and it left the pharaoh without a single card on the field. "He won…" She sighed with mixed feelings and tightened her grip on Marik's hand.

"Almost…" Marik answered dryly. "Yugi is just one attack away from fulfilling Yami's destiny."

Yami smiled wisely at his other half. "That duel was the best and the hardest duel of my life, Yugi. Thank you. It's your move now. Go on."

"That's so… sad." Tea sobbed and hugged Joey. "Once he attacks the pharaoh will be released and we will never see him again…"

Still Yugi hesitated to draw his next and final card. By now tears streamed down his face.

"It's okay. Make your turn." Yami comforted him.

"I-I draw." Yugi stuttered and didn't even take a look at the card in his hands. "Silent Magician, attack him directly." With those words spoken he fell down to his knees, crying heavily. Finally the pharaoh's life points reached zero.

Yami went over to his other half and gave him a gentle smile. "Stand up, Yugi. You won. You don't belong to your knees." He said and kneeled down in front of Yugi.

"But…but by winning this deal I'm sending you away… forever!" Yugi sobbed heavily and wiped away the tears that streamed down his face.

"No, you have opened the door for me! Thanks to you my spirit can finally be at rest once again…" Yami comforted him. "I'll be back where I belong until I come back again one day. Fate brought the two of us together for a reason, and we fulfilled our destiny. You grew so tremendously strong since the day you completed the puzzle, Yugi. You don't need me anymore."

"But I will miss you!" Yami cried.

His alter ego hugged him for a second. "We won't ever truly be apart, Yugi. There are bonds no distance or time can break. Thank you for everything."

Suddenly the eye of Wdjat on the big ancient stone tablet started to glow. "It begins!" Ishizu shouted in excitement. "The eye of Wdjat calls for the pharaoh!"

"What the hell is going on with that eye!?" Joey questioned and covered his eyes with his lower arms.

"Pharaoh, it's time. Tell the eye your name!" Marik said and gave him a pointed look and Yami nodded back at him before he waved goodbye to his friends.

"Thank you for everything. Good bye." He said with a voice soft as silk, finally finding his peace. Yami then turned back to the glowing eye of Wdjat. "I'm the son of king Aknamkanon! My name is… ATEM!"

With that the stone plate started to separate like a door to another world. There was nothing but light coming from the other side beyond it. With grief in their eyes the gang watched the pharaoh walk into the light. When the doors finally closed he was gone - back to where he belonged.

**xx**

"He's really gone…" Joey sighed in dismay. "I can't believe it…"

A painful silence surrounded them when they left the tomb and reached the surface again. They still didn't fully realise that their good friend left for another dimension. "What now?" Tea asked with a shaking voice.

"It's time to get back home…" Marik suggested and wrapped his arm around Jesara's waist. Yugi nodded at him approvingly. He looked like he just wanted to put as much distance between him and Egypt as possible now.

Jesara gaze wandered over to her brother. "Tahir… will you come with us?" She asked thoughtfully.

He let out a sigh. "I guess not… not yet."

"Why?"

"I still need to make the last arrangements in our clan before also I can live in the modern world. My mission also ends here. But we will see each other soon enough, sister." He promised and hugged her. "Good to have you back."

"It's nice to meet you." Jesara replied with a sarcastic smile.

"I guess we will see you at her birthday, right?" Marik asked with a smile playing on his lips, referring to what he had suggested to Jesara last night.

"Oh Marik…" Tahir grinned in amusement. "Sure I will be there for my sister's big day. And be sure that I will give you hell when you break my sister's heart once again."

"Promise." He said with a smile. "Never again."

**xx**

August 31st

Just a month had passed by since the pharaoh went back to his afterlife. Yugi had a hard time to adjust to being all alone in his head and body again, but he tried to focus on his pro leagues career to distract him from how much he missed the pharaoh. Ishizu and Odion wanted to be close to Marik and Jesara since there's a baby on its way and were lucky enough to get normal jobs in the Domino museum of history.

"Tea, don't you think that's a little… how should I say that?" Jesara said awkwardly when she looked at herself in the mirror at the vanity table in an especially arranged room on Marik's yacht. "Too much?"

Her friend snickered and powdered Jesara's face a little more. Her hair was elegantly curled with light waves, what gave her dark and light grey colour fade a special dimension. A few strands were pinned to the back and were held in place by an egyptian hairpin. Her favourite earrings with the shape of an ankh played perfectly with the whole styling, such as her long pitch black eyeliner and a few added single fake lashes to give an extra dimension to her eye's outer corners.

"You look just fabulous." Tea grinned like it was Christmas and her birthday together on the same day. "Marik's going to have a heart attack."

"He definitely will when you put more blush on my cheeks." Jesara retorted sarcastically.

Tea already wore a creme coloured long dress with an elegant v-neck, ready to get the ceremony started. "Guess it's time to put the dress on!" She cheered happily and grabbed the clothes bag from where it hang.

Jesara watched her nervously when Tea unpacked the ivory coloured, simple but classy dress. "I really can't believe that it's already time… after everything that happened between me and him in the last years. Just a few months ago I wanted to strangle him when we met again during Battle City. And now I'm pregnant with his child and we're just minutes ago from getting married…again. That's so weird." She sighed with a smile playing on her lips, which were accentuated with a natural, nude coloured shade of lipstick.

"Well, like Tahir said… Everything happens for a reason." Tea smiled and mentioned for her to get going. "Come on. Time for the dress, my dear!"

In the meantime Marik clinked champagne glasses with the others on the deck of his yacht, which was decorated with various egyptian flower bouquets in a creme and peach colour scheme. He wore an elegant black suit with a simple bow tie that matched with the creme colours of the arrangements. Jesara just wanted to keep everything as simple as possible without spending a fortune in a single day, so they decided to celebrate on his yacht, which offered just enough space for them and their friends.

"Already nervous!?" Joey asked with a grin and fist-bumped with Marik. "Dude, you know that you will have a hard time when you don't look good after her, right?"

They clinked glasses. "That's not part if the plan, Joey. But I promise to do my very best." Marik blinked back at him with a grin.

"Marik, it's time." Odion, who had the honour to be his best man for this special day, said with a wise smile. "We're ready to start."

Two gentle knocks on the door to Jesara's room made her cringe a little. "Yes?" She said loud enough. Ishizu then walked in with a gentle smile, wearing a fine ceremonial egyptian attire.

"Oh Ra, you look great. It's so classy. I love it!" Ishizu complimented her. "Everything is ready up there."

Jesara's dress didn't have the typical princess A-line shape or special swarovski decorations. It had a nice v-neck and a more empire-like shape, made from weightless looking chiffon. Besides that it was one of the only dresses that were available in such a short time.

"Alright… Oh Ra, now I'm getting nervous." Jesara sighed and started to tremble a little when Tea handed her the bouquet.

Ishizu put her hands on Jesara's shoulder to comfort her. "You just need to say 'yes', nothing else."

"Thank you." Jesara said with a smile, trying not to look too anxious. "And also thank you for being my maid of honour, Ishizu."

"Jess, come on. Don't let him wait!" Tea grinned and held the door open for them, ready to go ahead as the only bridesmaid.

The walk up to the deck felt like an eternity for her. Tahir, also dressed in an egyptian ceremonial attire, waited for them at the end of the staircase that led up to the deck. "Wow. I knew I had a wonderful sister, but this is breathtaking." He said with a smile and offered his arm for Jesara to hook in while Ishizu and Tea went ahead to the ceremony.

"Well, Tea knew how to fix that mess." Jesara grinned awkwardly. "I'm so happy that you are here to walk me down the aisle."

Music started to play on the deck of the yacht, signalising them that it was time. Jesara bit her bottom lip when she saw a special sandy blonde man waiting for her at the end of the aisle. Odion stood right beside his former master, who was now his best friend and brother. They both smiled when they caught the first sight of Jesara and Tahir. Her cheeks flashed bright red when she felt all the eyes resting on her while she walked side to side with her new-found brother.

"Take care of her." Tahir said with a smile and patted Marik's shoulder when he laid his sister's hand into his before he took his seat in the front row.

"Hi." She said with a shy smile and bright red cheeks.

Marik just placed a soft kiss onto her forehead. "Hi. Ready to spend the rest of your life with me?" He then asked and stroked gently over her reddened cheek with his thumb.

"Yes." She whispered. "I've been ready since the first time we did this. I just needed a little longer to realise it. I'm so… so ready."

A single tear of joy ran down her cheek before their mouths met each other in a soft embrace.

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**AN: FLUFF OVERLOAD xD hope I didn't give you all an overdose haha. Happy "almost" ending! I really want to do one last, maybe a little shorter chapter until I out this story at rest finally. Stay tuned :-) and make sure to leave a review!**


	18. December 24th

**AN: FINAL CHAPTER! Yes, you reached the end of SO. Since last chapter the plot is already completed, but I wanted to add a final fluff overdose and happy ending to the story :-) I wanted to come up with a christmas thing, since Marik's birthday is on Dec 23rd. Sorry for the late update here, but christmas days got me busy with a lot of family stuff. But finally here it is :-)**

**Enjoy and thank you so much for reading. Leave a review in the end if you like.**

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**CHAPTER XVII  
****December 24th**

It was a silent and peaceful evening only illuminated by colourful christmas lights and decorations in Domino city. The lights painted the white snow in wonderful colours like a peace of art while the stars sparkled like thousands of little diamonds in the sky. The irresistible smell of homemade eggnog and gingerbread flooded a house in one of the wealthy districts of the city.

It was a modern building with huge windows and high class furniture in a creme colour scheme with a few little lavender details. Egyptian decorations created a very unique contrast together with the other more modern items. For Marik it symbolised his heritage and past of which he was finally proud of, such as his new life in the modern world. There were also a few old objects from the tomb in the house. Just a year ago he wanted to forget everything he was as a tomb keeper and he hated everything about his past. But with the fulfilment of his destiny and his family's duty, such as the reunion with her and the birth of his son he finally found his peace. A peace he never knew.

Marik stood on his tiptoes in front of a big christmas tree to get the last piece of platinum coloured decoration in place. The sound system filled the living room with christmas songs and the chimney fire made the cozy atmosphere just perfect, while Jesara made the final food preparations for the christmas dinner in the kitchen.

Once she was done she silently observed the sandy blonde decorating the tree and leant herself against the doorframe. A smile played on her face as she watched him. Beside him in one corner of the living room their son was peacefully sleeping in a crib and his little fingers held a fluffy toy in his hands which looked like the god Horus.

Never did she expect that everything that had happened between both of them would end up like this. She couldn't be happier.

"I won't ever understand why they put trees in houses and put glitter on it…" Marik murmured to himself when he looked at the finally fully decorated tree and rubbed the back of his head.

Jesara couldn't help but chuckle at his words. "You still look so cute doing normal things, Marik." She then drew closer to him and wrapped her arms around his abdomen.

He arched a brow and gave her a sarcastic glance when she looked at her over his shoulder. "It's about time that we get used to a normal life after all that. Don't you think?" Marik smiled at her.

"As long as you don't get bored, Mr. Ishtar." She said playfully and pressed a kiss on his cheek.

"Promise." He said softly. "I'm sure we won't get bored for the next eighteen years." Marik then glanced at the crib.

She giggled. "In fact. He already looks like you." Jesara's hands softly brushed up and down his chest. "He's so sweet."

"Did you expect anything less?" He teased playfully and turned around to kiss her gently. "We did a pretty good job."

Marik glanced over to the crib with a smile. His sleeping son had the same dark hair colour and skin tone like Jesara, paired with his pale lavender irises. He slept so peacefully in his cozy blanket while the fire in the chimney graced him with the warmth of its flames. "I'm so proud of you, little boy. I'll protect you from all the darkness and pain out there… like I wished my father would have done for me. I promise." He whispered to him and bent down beside the tiny bed.

"I have something for you." Jesara said and grabbed for a tiny lavender coloured box under the christmas tree. Marik looked at her curiously and stood up when she gave it to him. "Since your birthday and christmas is on the same weekend I decided to get something special for you. Happy birthday and merry christmas." Her cheeks blushed a bit when she smiled up at her sandy blonde husband.

He let out a sigh. "Jesara, I told you that you and our son are all I could ever wish for the rest of my life. You didn't need to get me anything as long as you are here with me." Their eyes locked intensively.

"But I wanted to. So, open it now." She urged with a grin.

Carefully he unwrapped the box from the paper. Jesara bit her lip nervously and held back her excitement about what he would say about her present. Marik then finally opened the little wooden box. "Oh Ra."

"Do you like it?" She asked smiling.

He nodded and tried to hold back the tears of joy that gathered in the corners of his lavender eyes. "I don't know what to say."

"Then say nothing." Jesara smiled. "Years ago you gave me those ankh earrings as a sign for tbe connection of a boy and a girl. So I thought you should have one too. Look at the back side of it."

Marik took out the necklace and turned the ankh dangler like she said. The smile on his lips widened when he saw the three letters engraved on it.

"Now we are always with you. We are one. There's nothing that could separate us." Jesara explained and helped him to put it on. "And it should symbolise our new life in the light. It should be a reminder for you that there won't ever be hours of darkness in your or our life. I love you."

He then pressed his lips on hers tenderly. "I love you too." His index finger stroked seductively along her neck, which always was an absolute trigger for her to rip his clothes off right here and now. A shiver of lust shot down her spine when his fingertips went all the way up again and brushed over the sensitive spot by her ear.

"You know that our guests will arrive in a few minutes, don't you?" She urged under her breath, trying to fight against his little game, which he used to play with her senses years ago. Marik then silenced her with another gentle kiss, which he deepened with sensual movements of his tongue.

But their little moment didn't last too long when finally their son awoke from his slumber. Almost at the same time their doorbell rang. "We'll come back to that later." He whispered with a smug smirk before he broke away from her to open the door. Jesara held back a little grin while she took her happily babbling son in her arms before joining Marik to welcome their guests.

"Ishizu, Odion. Merry christmas. We're so happy that you're here." Jesara greeted them happily. They kissed each others cheeks and hugged.

"Yugi! Come in, merry christmas." Marik said with a friendly smile and invited him in. He's never been more grateful in his life. Yugi had forgiven him everything he has done to him and his friends. It was the beginning of a long, true friendship.

"Oh my god, he's growing so fast!" Yugi cheered when he saw their son. Jesara let him then hold the baby, which was just a few months old now. He immediately grabbed for Yugi's blonde hair strands and smiled at him. It was like they knew each other for years.

"Hi Atem…" Yugi whispered softly and hugged him.

"I guess he already knows very well who you are, Yugi." Ishizu said with her silky voice.

The baby boy looked at Yugi with his big innocent lavender eyes and giggled joyfully. "I think so. I can't wait until we can duel each other again, Atem." Yugi grinned and cuddled him.

"What a twist of fate…" Jesara whispered to Marik beside her when he wrapped her arm around her waist. Both of them watched the scene joyfully.

"And I love every second of it." He answered under his breath and pressed a kiss onto her temple. "And you."

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**AN: And so they lived happily ever after :D Thanks so much to all who read, followed, favourited and reviewed the story. XOXO!**

**If you didn't see it already, there's also a PREQUEL on my story list, which is still progressing. Check it out: A Distant Embrace.**

**And if you also like Kaiba x OC with a weird love triangle with Yami Bakura and just the right amount of smut in it you should check out my newest story Privilege Escalation :-)**

**Happy new year to all of you!**


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